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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a music group
  6. drill — a practice
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wind — moving air
  9. board — to get on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — a committee
  17. key — in music
  18. drill — army training

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