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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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. cap — a hat
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spell — letters
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. game — wild animals
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mate — a friend
  13. game — a match
  14. mate — a partner
  15. object — to protest
  16. cap — of ice
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cap — a lid
  21. band — a ring
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. band — a music group

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