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

Word bank: band · suit · game · kid · pound · clip · jam · row

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. band — a music group
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. kid — to tease
  5. game — wild animals
  6. suit — clothes
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. suit — to fit
  9. clip — a video
  10. suit — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — child
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. clip — to cut
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. pound — a weight
  19. game — a match
  20. row — to paddle
  21. clip — for paper
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. band — a ring
  24. row — a quarrel

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