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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: band · net · swing · hand · trunk · cell · dip · bore

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. swing — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bore — to tire
  8. dip — to sink
  9. hand — help
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. net — for catching
  12. swing — in golf
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. swing — to play on
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cell — a phone
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hand — part of the body
  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