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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 120 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 · band · net · bound · shower · present · row · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. game — a match
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rash — hasty
  10. present — a gift
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — rain
  14. present — there
  15. bound — obliged
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bound — certain
  18. present — the time now
  19. row — to paddle
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. shower — to wash

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