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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: field · hand · scale · band · chip · bound · current · object

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a ring
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — for betting
  5. object — to protest
  6. scale — in music
  7. object — an aim
  8. bound — tied together
  9. current — of water
  10. bound — obliged
  11. band — a music group
  12. chip — to eat
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — for sport
  19. current — happening now
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. object — a thing
  23. hand — in cards
  24. current — electric

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