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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rash — a series
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a music group
  13. game — a match
  14. suit — in cards
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. suit — to fit
  17. ground — a position
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ground — the earth
  23. suit — clothes
  24. band — a rubber band

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