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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: wound · arm · kick · row · band · game · face · staff

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. face — to confront
  3. band — a ring
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. staff — a stick
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. row — to paddle
  12. kick — in football
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a music group
  15. staff — employees
  16. wound — an injury
  17. face — part of the head
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — an injury
  22. staff — employees
  23. face — to point toward
  24. arm — a part of something

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