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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 120 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. stem — to come from
  4. court — for sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. band — a ring
  7. firm — decided
  8. band — a music group
  9. lean — thin
  10. board — a committee
  11. court — of law
  12. firm — steady
  13. pop — to visit
  14. spring — a coil
  15. court — of a king
  16. lean — to bend
  17. board — to get on
  18. firm — a company
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pop — music
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. stem — of a plant

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