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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: band · field · jam · game · pass · sharp · last · wake

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. field — a subject
  3. band — a ring
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pass — a permit
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. field — for sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. band — a music group
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. last — to go on
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — wild animals

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