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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: jam · wound · band · mouse · chair · march · game · bore

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chair — a leader
  12. march — the month
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a music group
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bore — to drill
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a ring
  24. march — music

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