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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. content — happy
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. cell — a phone
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. field — a subject
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. field — for sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. field — farmland
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. content — the amount
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — the animal
  18. band — a music group
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. band — a ring
  24. rash — a series

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