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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rock — music
  5. band — a music group
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. capital — a city
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. band — a ring
  16. capital — money
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. staff — a stick
  19. stock — goods
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — shares
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. staff — employees

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