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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: band · board · ground · fine · mine · saw · bat · jam

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fine — high quality
  3. band — a ring
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. saw — the tool
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — the earth
  12. board — to get on
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ground — crushed
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. fine — all right
  17. board — a committee
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ground — a position
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a music group

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