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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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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 · wake · kid · can · cell · rest · press · field

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kid — to tease
  11. can — a tin
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — child
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. band — a ring
  21. press — to push
  22. rest — a break
  23. press — a publisher
  24. field — for sport

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