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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. key — the most important part
  4. band — a ring
  5. key — for a lock
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. sharp — clever
  11. key — in music
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. board — to get on
  17. band — a music group
  18. straw — dry grass

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