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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 · band · leaves · cap · foot · mouse · wake · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. band — a music group
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — a lid
  8. foot — a measure
  9. game — wild animals
  10. hand — help
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. band — a ring
  15. cap — a hat
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. wake — a trail
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mouse — for a computer

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