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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: chest · band · bear · dip · can · nail · fan · field

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. field — a subject
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. field — for sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. chest — a box
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. field — farmland
  22. chest — of your body
  23. can — a tin
  24. bear — the animal

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