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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. roll — a cake
  4. board — a committee
  5. bass — the fish
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cap — of ice
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. court — of a king
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. court — of law
  15. roll — a list
  16. band — a music group
  17. bass — low music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cell — a phone
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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