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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 120 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: foot · band · pit · field · chair · wound · stock · rule

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pit — a hole
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. field — a subject
  7. pit — in a race
  8. chair — a leader
  9. field — farmland
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. field — for sport
  13. rule — a law
  14. stock — shares
  15. band — a ring
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. stock — goods
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. band — a music group
  22. rule — government
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — a soup base

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