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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — to shout
  3. last — finally
  4. cell — a phone
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. band — a music group
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. last — to go on
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. board — a committee
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — final
  19. board — to get on
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — the amount
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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