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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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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 · game · net · pitch · kid · face · bound · charge

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. band — a ring
  3. bound — obliged
  4. charge — electricity
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bound — certain
  7. charge — a price
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kid — child
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. charge — in control
  15. face — to confront
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitch — completely
  21. net — for catching
  22. face — to point toward
  23. net — after costs
  24. band — a music group

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