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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fine — high quality
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. board — a committee
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rule — government
  10. band — a ring
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — all right
  14. board — to get on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. branch — a division
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rule — a law

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