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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. band — a ring
  4. board — a committee
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pit — a hole
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — to tease
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. board — to get on
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pit — in a race
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — not warm
  21. staff — employees
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kid — child

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