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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: sharp · band · field · bat · game · jam · key · bulb

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. game — a match
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. band — a music group
  9. bat — the animal
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. sharp — clever
  14. game — wild animals
  15. key — the most important part
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. band — a ring
  18. bulb — for light
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. key — in music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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