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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stand — to bear
  3. band — a music group
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. swing — music
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bass — low music
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bass — the instrument

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