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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bass — the fish
  4. can — a tin
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a ring
  9. can — a tin
  10. board — a committee
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. track — to keep track

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