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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 · game · date · net · ruler · land · band · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. net — for catching
  3. land — a country
  4. kick — in football
  5. land — ground
  6. spell — a short time
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. net — after costs
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — in sport
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. land — to come down
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. game — a match
  22. spell — letters
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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