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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: chair · bound · cap · leaves · band · field · mug · current

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bound — certain
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. current — of water
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. field — farmland
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — a leader
  9. current — electric
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cap — of ice
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bound — obliged
  17. current — happening now
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mug — a face
  20. band — a ring
  21. field — for sport
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. field — a subject
  24. chair — to sit on

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