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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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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: chair · field · squash · rest · snap · rock · band · suit

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. field — for sport
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — the sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. band — a ring
  8. rest — what's left
  9. suit — in cards
  10. rest — a break
  11. chair — a leader
  12. field — farmland
  13. suit — to fit
  14. field — a subject
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. band — a music group
  19. rock — music
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rock — a stone
  23. snap — to click
  24. suit — clothes

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