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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ground — a position
  5. wax — to grow
  6. band — a music group
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ground — crushed
  11. board — to get on
  12. fine — all right
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. spring — of water
  18. dip — to sink
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ground — the earth
  22. band — a ring
  23. board — a committee
  24. fine — high quality

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