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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: hand · game · bulb · wound · rush · fine · band · cell

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. band — a ring
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. game — wild animals
  8. band — a music group
  9. fine — all right
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cell — in biology
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. game — a match
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rush — hurry

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