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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · bulb · ball · land · band · trunk · roll · wind

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ball — a great time
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — a country
  5. pound — a weight
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — to come down
  9. bulb — for light
  10. land — ground
  11. ball — a dance
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. roll — a cake
  15. band — a music group
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wind — moving air
  18. roll — a list
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. trunk — of a tree

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