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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bass — the fish
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — for digging
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a document
  16. board — to get on
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. file — a tool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. file — a line of people
  22. plane — a tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. board — a committee

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