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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pound — a weight
  7. current — of water
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. current — electric
  10. clip — for paper
  11. swing — music
  12. deal — to handle
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — a video
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — in a road
  22. clip — to cut
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. kid — child

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