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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 · pop · band · stick · roll · perch · field · straw

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. field — a subject
  3. band — a music group
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — to visit
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. roll — a list
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pop — soda
  14. band — a ring
  15. rash — hasty
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pop — music

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