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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — to get on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — to grow
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. board — a committee
  9. band — a music group
  10. game — a match
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chest — of your body
  16. roll — a list
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chest — a box
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. band — a ring
  24. roll — a cake

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