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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: drill · net · band · game · leaves · rule · wind · chair

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. band — a ring
  5. net — in sport
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. band — a music group
  10. game — wild animals
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chair — a leader
  13. drill — army training
  14. rule — a law
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rule — government
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — for catching
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. leaves — of a tree

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