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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · squash · march · pitch · plane · club · wound · mine

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. mine — for digging
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. club — for golf
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. squash — to crush
  16. club — for dancing
  17. plane — a tool
  18. club — a group
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a music group
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. march — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pitch — completely

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