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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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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bound — certain
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bat — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. club — for dancing
  13. band — a music group
  14. club — a group
  15. game — a match
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bass — low music

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