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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: board · march · hand · game · pound · wound · fan · ball

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hand — in cards
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. board — a committee
  10. pound — a weight
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. board — to get on
  13. hand — help
  14. march — music
  15. ball — a dance
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a match
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. march — the month
  24. ball — a great time

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