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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: fork · band · chair · land · board · saw · mine · club

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — ground
  4. board — to get on
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. band — a ring
  13. fork — in a road
  14. chair — a leader
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — a group
  21. band — a music group
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. board — a committee
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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