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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. face — to confront
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. scale — size or range
  7. board — to get on
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. band — a music group
  10. wound — an injury
  11. scale — in music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. board — a committee
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. band — a ring
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — for digging
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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