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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rock · hide · wound · band · game · court · fall · field

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rock — music
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. band — a music group
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. court — of a king
  12. game — wild animals
  13. field — for sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — the season
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. field — a subject
  18. rock — a stone
  19. field — farmland
  20. wound — an injury
  21. band — a ring
  22. fall — to drop
  23. court — for sport
  24. game — a match

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