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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 116 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 the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mate — to breed
  3. board — to get on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. current — of water
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a ring
  9. season — in sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cold — an illness
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. current — electric
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. season — of the year
  24. current — happening now

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