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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. band — a ring
  7. mug — to rob
  8. land — a country
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — a coil
  15. firm — steady
  16. mug — a cup
  17. firm — decided
  18. spring — the season
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mug — a face
  22. spring — of water
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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