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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: bank · hide · game · rock · band · arm · saw · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. game — a match
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. saw — the tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bank — for money
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. band — a ring
  11. rock — a stone
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — child
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. game — wild animals
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bank — of a river
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bank — for money
  24. rock — music

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