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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. swing — in golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. content — happy
  11. pound — a weight
  12. club — for golf
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. game — a match
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. band — a music group
  18. club — a group
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. roll — a list
  22. game — wild animals
  23. swing — music
  24. pound — for dogs

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