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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · game · club · present · straw · date

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — a group
  4. present — there
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. club — for golf
  8. game — wild animals
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. club — for dancing
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. date — the fruit
  17. game — a match
  18. band — a rubber band

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