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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.

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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: tear · game · cue · band · cap · bound · field · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. swing — to play on
  6. band — a music group
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cap — of ice
  11. game — a match
  12. swing — in golf
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. field — farmland
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. band — a ring
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bound — tied together
  24. game — wild animals

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