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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. scale — size or range
  3. field — farmland
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. board — a committee
  6. cold — not warm
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. scale — in music
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — a subject
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rest — what's left
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rest — a break
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. band — a music group
  24. board — to get on

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