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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 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. swing — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. game — a match
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. swing — to play on
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. band — a music group
  13. roll — a list
  14. pitch — completely
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. roll — a cake
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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