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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: pound · rock · mine · game · present · band · plane · rest

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rest — a break
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mine — for digging
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pound — a weight
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. rock — a stone
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rock — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. game — a match
  17. present — a gift
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. band — a ring
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rest — what's left
  22. plane — a tool
  23. present — there
  24. rest — what's left

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