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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: spell · band · bass · bound · land · suit · bulb · field

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bass — low music
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bound — tied together
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. field — farmland
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bound — certain
  9. suit — to fit
  10. land — to come down
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spell — magic
  13. field — a subject
  14. land — ground
  15. spell — letters
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spell — a short time
  19. suit — clothes
  20. land — a country
  21. bound — obliged
  22. band — a music group
  23. field — for sport
  24. bulb — of a plant

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