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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: net · deal · bore · charge · band · kick · cell · court

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bore — to tire
  4. charge — a price
  5. cell — a phone
  6. charge — in control
  7. deal — to handle
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. band — a music group
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. charge — electricity
  19. court — of a king
  20. net — in sport
  21. kick — in football
  22. cell — in biology
  23. net — after costs
  24. bore — gave birth

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