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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 116 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: rash · degree · band · hand · coach · firm · game · spell

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. rash — a series
  3. hand — in cards
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spell — a short time
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spell — magic
  8. firm — decided
  9. game — a match
  10. hand — help
  11. firm — steady
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. rash — hasty
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. spell — letters
  20. band — a music group
  21. degree — temperature
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. degree — from a university

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