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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · game · band · last · kick · row · scale · kid

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. band — a music group
  3. row — to paddle
  4. deal — to handle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. row — a line
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. kick — in football
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. band — a ring
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. last — finally
  17. scale — size or range
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. scale — in music

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