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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 · tube · hand · present · game · arm · court · swing

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. swing — in golf
  3. hand — in cards
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. present — the time now
  7. court — of law
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — a match
  11. swing — music
  12. tube — the underground
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — to play on
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. present — there
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. court — of a king
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. band — a ring
  24. present — a gift

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