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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spring — a coil
  4. band — a music group
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. board — to get on
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. last — to go on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. band — a ring
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — final
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. squash — to crush
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. squash — the sport
  23. board — a committee
  24. staff — employees

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