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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · coach · press · mine · snap · band · calf · march

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. band — a ring
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — the month
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — a match
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. snap — to click
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. march — music
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mine — for digging
  24. band — a rubber band

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