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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: kick · club · chair · hand · rash · press · band · wound

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — a group
  5. press — to push
  6. chair — a leader
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. club — for golf
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rash — hasty
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rash — a series
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kick — in football
  22. band — a ring
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rash — on the skin

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