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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a music group
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bat — the animal
  8. board — to get on
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wax — to grow
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. chair — a leader
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. band — a ring
  21. board — a committee
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cell — a phone
  24. game — a kind of play

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