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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. board — to get on
  6. tube — a container
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. band — a ring
  9. rash — hasty
  10. band — a music group
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. kid — child
  17. fork — in a road
  18. hand — in cards
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hand — help
  21. tube — the underground
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — part of the body
  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