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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. court — of a king
  3. wind — moving air
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — for sport
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wind — moving air
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. court — of law
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. board — to get on

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