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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · mine · cap · kick · chest · band · field · bay

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. band — a ring
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. band — a music group
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — farmland
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. last — finally
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chest — a box
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com