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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: arm · mine · bowl · prune · wound · nail · band · mate

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a music group
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. prune — to trim
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — an injury

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