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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: pop · racket · mark · field · band · straw · cap · march

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pop — music
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — farmland
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. field — a subject
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. band — a music group
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. march — music
  21. band — a ring
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — for sport

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