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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 120 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: ground · band · straw · bulb · rule · field

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. field — farmland
  5. bulb — for light
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — a subject
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. ground — crushed
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. ground — a position

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