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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. spring — of water
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — the season
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. cap — a lid
  14. spring — a coil
  15. board — a committee
  16. hand — in cards
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bound — obliged
  19. band — a music group
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rash — a series
  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