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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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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. squash — the sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. face — to confront
  10. band — a ring
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — a trail
  16. squash — to crush
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bat — in an idiom

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