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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: suit · wind · mug · band · land · field · cell · chip

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. band — a music group
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — a subject
  11. chip — to eat
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mug — to rob
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. suit — in cards
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mug — a face
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. band — a ring

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