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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 · game · ground · branch · bowl · season · hand · rule

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — crushed
  5. hand — help
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. band — a ring
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ground — the earth
  16. season — of the year
  17. rule — a law
  18. game — a match
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — a position

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