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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · band · kid · tube · drill · pass · wound · net

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. game — a match
  3. tube — the underground
  4. net — after costs
  5. band — a ring
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. net — for catching
  9. drill — army training
  10. wound — an injury
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. net — in sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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