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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 116 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: rule · field · stand · mug · band · chair · mark · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. mug — to rob
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mug — a face
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rule — a law
  13. band — a music group
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. band — a ring
  20. rule — government
  21. mark — a trace
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. mug — a cup
  24. stand — to bear

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