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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. board — to get on
  4. can — a tin
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. current — electric
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — wild animals
  12. current — happening now
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cold — not warm
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. board — a committee
  21. can — a tin
  22. band — a ring
  23. current — of water
  24. game — a match

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