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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: mine · game · band · fork · wake · chair · scale · perch

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — for digging
  3. scale — in music
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. perch — the fish
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. game — wild animals
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chair — a leader

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