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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: staff · pound · fork · court · hide · cold · band · game

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. fork — in a road
  6. staff — a stick
  7. court — of a king
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. staff — employees
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — of law
  22. pound — a weight
  23. band — a music group
  24. court — for sport

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