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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: band · wound · mark · hand · chip · game · wind · mug

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chip — to eat
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — an injury
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hand — help
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mug — to rob
  14. band — a music group
  15. mug — a face
  16. game — a match
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mark — a grade
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — to pay attention

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