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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. kid — to tease
  3. band — a ring
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spring — the season
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. ground — the earth
  8. board — to get on
  9. spring — of water
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bass — low music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. band — a music group
  16. ground — a position
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ground — crushed
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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