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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rule — government
  6. board — a committee
  7. content — the amount
  8. board — to get on
  9. rule — a law
  10. band — a ring
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. rock — a stone
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — a measure
  17. band — a music group
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cold — not warm
  23. content — happy
  24. leaves — lets stay

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