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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. land — to come down
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. field — farmland
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — ground
  12. chip — to eat
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — for sport
  15. land — a country
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. band — a ring

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