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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bat — the animal
  4. roll — a list
  5. band — a ring
  6. board — to get on
  7. stand — to bear
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. key — for a lock
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wound — an injury
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. board — a committee

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