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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: calf · bound · cold · field · stand · mark · net · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stand — to bear
  3. net — in sport
  4. bound — obliged
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — tied together
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — farmland
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. net — for catching
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. field — for sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — an illness

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