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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. band — a ring
  3. board — to get on
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. court — of a king
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fall — to drop
  11. board — a committee
  12. tube — a container
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — of law
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. fall — the season
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. scale — in music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a rubber band

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