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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. board — a committee
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — the animal
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. band — a music group
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bass — low music
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. board — to get on
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. band — a ring
  24. bass — the fish

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