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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: snap · band · court · pit · lean · game · row · saw

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lean — thin
  3. snap — to click
  4. pit — in a race
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. band — a music group
  10. pit — a hole
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. court — of a king
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. band — a ring

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