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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — money
  3. firm — steady
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. land — a country
  8. board — to get on
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. band — a ring
  12. fall — the season
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. capital — a city
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — to grow
  20. current — happening now
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — a company
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. current — of water

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