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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 120 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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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: mine · band · racket · cabinet · fork · kick · wound · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fork — in a road
  5. band — a music group
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. band — a ring
  24. racket — for tennis

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