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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. band — a music group
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. field — for sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. root — the cause
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. field — farmland
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. lie — to recline
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. band — a ring
  20. pound — a weight
  21. root — of a word
  22. game — wild animals
  23. board — to get on
  24. field — a subject

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