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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — to cut
  6. face — to point toward
  7. vault — a safe
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rule — government
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — to confront
  17. board — to get on
  18. last — to go on
  19. band — a music group
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. clip — for paper
  22. face — part of the head
  23. band — a ring
  24. board — a flat piece

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