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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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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: stand · game · charge · band · chair · mine · hand · firm

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. firm — steady
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. firm — decided
  5. charge — a price
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — for digging
  13. game — a match
  14. charge — in control
  15. stand — to bear
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. hand — help
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. charge — electricity
  22. firm — a company
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stand — for spectators

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