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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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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 · wound · fork · arm · net · cabinet · ground · cell

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — in sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ground — a position
  12. wound — an injury
  13. net — for catching
  14. ground — the earth
  15. net — after costs
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. band — a ring
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cabinet — ministers

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