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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. band — a music group
  3. rest — a break
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. band — a ring
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bark — to shout
  11. board — to get on
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in sport

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