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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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Word bank
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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: wake · band · bear · wound · field · fall · cap · leaves

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a ring
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bear — the animal
  8. field — for sport
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bear — the animal
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. wake — before a funeral

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