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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — ground
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. kid — child
  5. rock — music
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. band — a music group
  8. rock — a stone
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — the arms race
  16. board — to get on
  17. land — to come down
  18. band — a ring
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. face — part of the head
  23. board — a committee
  24. land — a country

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