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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. current — happening now
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — the amount
  5. current — electric
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a line of people
  9. current — of water
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. game — a match
  16. band — a ring
  17. game — wild animals
  18. file — a tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. file — a document

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