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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 116 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: chip · fork · court · swing · pound · band · land · leaves

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pound — a weight
  3. swing — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. land — a country
  11. court — of law
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. band — a music group
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. court — of a king
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — for sport
  19. land — to come down
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — to play on
  24. leaves — lets stay

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