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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: game · kid · bat · band · shower · board · press · mate

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. band — a ring
  8. game — wild animals
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. game — a match
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mate — a friend
  15. press — to push
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — newspapers
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kid — child
  20. mate — to breed
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mate — a partner
  23. press — a publisher
  24. board — a flat piece

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