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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: rest · trunk · craft · pop · content · chest · field · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — the amount
  5. field — a subject
  6. chest — a box
  7. content — happy
  8. craft — a skill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rest — a break
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — soda
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rest — what's left
  20. craft — boats
  21. band — a ring
  22. field — farmland
  23. pop — music
  24. rest — what's left

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