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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. field — for sport
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. band — a music group
  5. cue — for pool
  6. court — for sport
  7. board — a committee
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — a signal
  11. field — farmland
  12. land — to come down
  13. court — of law
  14. land — a country
  15. field — a subject
  16. band — a ring
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. hand — help
  19. board — to get on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. court — of a king
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cue — a hint

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