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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rock — a stone
  3. board — a committee
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. board — to get on
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rock — music
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. tube — a container
  16. race — a contest
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. race — the arms race
  19. court — of a king
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. race — humankind
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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