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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 · file · spell · key · roll · charge · hand · band

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. band — a ring
  3. hand — in cards
  4. game — wild animals
  5. file — a tool
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. key — for a lock
  8. band — a music group
  9. charge — in control
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spell — letters
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a line of people
  16. game — a match
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. hand — help
  19. key — in music
  20. file — a document
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — electricity
  24. spell — magic

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