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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cap — of ice
  3. board — to get on
  4. band — a ring
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. dip — to sink
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chest — a box
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — final
  24. sharp — exactly

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