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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: game · bore · can · cold · scale · racket · mouse · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. can — to be able to
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bore — to tire
  12. can — a tin
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. band — a music group
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — an illness
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — not warm
  24. scale — size or range

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