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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 116 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 · hand · tube · board · bear · net · row · rule

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — help
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. row — a line
  12. board — to get on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — for catching
  17. game — a match
  18. rule — government
  19. net — in sport
  20. board — a committee
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. row — to paddle
  24. tube — a container

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