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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: band · lean · calf · cue · field · board · clip · ball

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. lean — to bend
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. field — for sport
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cue — a hint
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ball — a dance
  15. clip — a video
  16. cue — a signal
  17. board — a committee
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — farmland
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cue — for pool
  23. ball — a great time
  24. board — to get 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