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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: net · band · bulb · field · hand · scale · current · pop

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. net — after costs
  3. pop — soda
  4. net — in sport
  5. pop — music
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. current — of water
  8. scale — size or range
  9. field — a subject
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — for sport
  15. current — happening now
  16. field — farmland
  17. pop — to visit
  18. net — for catching
  19. current — electric
  20. band — a ring
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. scale — in music

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