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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: club · hand · row · mate · band · object · rest · bound

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. row — a line
  3. mate — a partner
  4. rest — a break
  5. object — to protest
  6. club — for golf
  7. band — a ring
  8. object — a thing
  9. bound — certain
  10. hand — help
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — an aim
  14. bound — obliged
  15. club — for dancing
  16. mate — to breed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. club — a group
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rest — what's left
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. row — to paddle

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