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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: band · bear · kid · hand · game · board · bound · squash

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. game — a match
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — child
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. hand — help
  16. board — a committee
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — wild animals
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bound — certain
  23. board — to get on
  24. game — a kind of play

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