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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — farmland
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. scale — in music
  8. band — a music group
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. date — the fruit
  11. board — to get on
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. scale — size or range
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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