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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. firm — steady
  5. cell — a phone
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — moving air
  11. firm — a company
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cue — a hint
  15. band — a ring
  16. firm — decided
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. degree — temperature
  23. board — to get on
  24. cue — for pool

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