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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rule — government
  3. ground — a position
  4. board — a committee
  5. spring — a coil
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. band — a music group
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. ground — the earth
  15. band — a ring
  16. board — to get on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. court — of a king
  23. tube — the underground
  24. ground — crushed

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