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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pound — a weight
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — farmland
  17. face — part of the head
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. charge — in control
  24. swing — 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