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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bass — low music
  8. shower — rain
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a music group
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kid — child
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. scale — in music
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — size or range
  24. kid — to tease

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