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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 116 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. file — a line of people
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a tool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. rash — hasty
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rash — a series
  17. file — a document
  18. object — to protest
  19. band — a music group
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. band — a ring

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