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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · dip · band · field · mine · pop · bear · pass

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. field — a subject
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chest — of your body
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. pop — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mine — for digging
  14. field — farmland
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pop — soda
  22. chest — a box
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pop — to visit

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