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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a music group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. scale — in music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. club — for golf
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. club — a group
  10. band — a ring
  11. scale — size or range
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wind — moving air
  19. current — electric
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. ground — a position
  22. current — happening now
  23. ground — the earth
  24. current — of water

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