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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 · plane · coach · net · swing · pound · land · rule

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. land — a country
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. land — ground
  11. rule — government
  12. swing — to play on
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. band — a ring
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. plane — a tool
  20. net — for catching
  21. land — to come down
  22. pound — a weight
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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