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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: squash · shower · field · hide · pass · file · game · band

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. field — for sport
  3. band — a music group
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. file — a line of people
  7. squash — to crush
  8. game — a match
  9. shower — rain
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pass — a permit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. file — a tool
  15. squash — the sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — farmland
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. band — a ring
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hide — animal skin

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