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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 · rest · field · hand · pit · roll · sharp · bear

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. hand — help
  3. band — a ring
  4. bear — the animal
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rest — a break
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. field — farmland
  13. hand — in cards
  14. field — for sport
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pit — a hole
  18. rest — what's left
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. field — a subject
  21. roll — a cake
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. roll — a list

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