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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. scale — in music
  4. board — to get on
  5. scale — size or range
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. object — to protest
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. content — happy
  14. object — an aim
  15. staff — a stick
  16. band — a music group
  17. staff — employees
  18. band — a ring
  19. content — the amount
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. field — for sport
  22. object — a thing
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. board — a committee

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