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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 116 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spring — of water
  5. wax — to grow
  6. swing — to play on
  7. land — to come down
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — a country
  10. rock — music
  11. craft — boats
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. spring — the season
  14. band — a music group
  15. board — a committee
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rock — a stone
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. band — a ring
  20. swing — music
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — in golf
  23. spring — a coil
  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