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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — certain
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — boats
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. band — a ring
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. board — to get on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bound — obliged
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. scale — in music
  16. band — a music group
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bound — tied together
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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