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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: march · field · hide · rest · lie · chair · saw · band

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. field — farmland
  4. rest — a break
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. march — music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lie — to recline
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — what's left

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