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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 124 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: band · craft · field · object · rest · pitcher · rule · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. band — a ring
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rule — government
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. craft — boats
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — a subject
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rule — a law
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. field — farmland
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pitcher — a jug

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