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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cap — a hat
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rule — government
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a ring
  7. snap — to click
  8. face — to confront
  9. rule — a law
  10. face — part of the head
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. craft — a skill
  15. face — to point toward
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cap — a lid
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — boats
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cap — of ice

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