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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 120 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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. band — a ring
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. board — to get on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — for sport
  14. fall — the season
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. court — of a king
  17. spring — of water
  18. court — of law
  19. suit — to fit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spring — the season
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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