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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: game · hand · band · mine · scale · temple · coach · pit

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. band — a ring
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a match
  14. pit — in a race
  15. game — wild animals
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pit — a hole
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. band — a music group
  24. scale — in music

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