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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: rash · trunk · field · date · fall · season · band · content

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. band — a music group
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. field — farmland
  10. date — the fruit
  11. season — of the year
  12. field — a subject
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a ring
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — happy
  19. season — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rash — a series
  22. fall — the season
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. content — the amount

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