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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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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: chest · band · wave · game · stick · firm · field · wind

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. firm — steady
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. chest — of your body
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — a match
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — a subject
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. band — a music group
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. field — for sport
  16. firm — decided
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — a box
  20. firm — a company
  21. band — a ring
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wind — moving air

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