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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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. capital — a big letter
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a match
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. board — a committee
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. capital — a city
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ball — a dance
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. capital — money
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mark — a grade

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