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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. board — a committee
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. season — of the year
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. season — in sport
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — moving air
  13. present — the time now
  14. band — a music group
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. present — there
  21. band — a ring
  22. press — to push
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wind — to turn a key

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