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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: ruler · tear · wake · drill · field · band · cap · board

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. band — a ring
  3. field — farmland
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. field — a subject
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cap — of ice
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. band — a music group
  24. ruler — a monarch

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