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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a music group
  4. present — the time now
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. track — to keep track
  7. present — there
  8. court — for sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. track — a song
  12. board — to get on
  13. present — a gift
  14. band — a ring
  15. court — of law
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a tool
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. file — a document
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chair — a leader
  24. track — a path

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