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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chair — a leader
  3. board — to get on
  4. tube — a container
  5. band — a ring
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bark — to shout
  8. tube — the underground
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. band — a music group
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. craft — boats
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — a coil
  24. straw — a straw man

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