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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 120 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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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: wake · kid · band · ground · cue · arm · fall · row

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fall — the season
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cue — for pool
  14. kid — child
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cue — a signal
  18. band — a music group
  19. cue — a hint
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wake — a trail
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fall — to drop

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