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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: march · band · bass · wave · rule · field · dip · drill

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. band — a music group
  3. march — the month
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. bass — the fish
  7. field — a subject
  8. march — music
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rule — government
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bass — low music
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. drill — army training
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. march — the month
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. rule — a law
  24. drill — a practice

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