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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 116 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: game · pit · band · ground · pound · last · wound · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — the earth
  6. last — to go on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. last — final
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. band — a ring
  14. game — a match
  15. rock — music
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ground — crushed
  19. band — a music group
  20. last — finally
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. ground — a position
  24. wound — an injury

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