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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a music group
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cap — of ice
  8. face — to point toward
  9. file — a document
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. face — part of the head
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cap — a hat
  14. board — a committee
  15. face — to confront
  16. board — to get on
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. band — a ring
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cap — a lid

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