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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. board — a committee
  4. band — a music group
  5. stand — to bear
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. suit — clothes
  8. suit — in cards
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. chest — a box
  11. capital — a city
  12. board — to get on
  13. suit — to fit
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — money
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. band — a ring
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. hand — help
  24. chest — of your body

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