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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. present — a gift
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a music group
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. game — wild animals
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. present — the time now
  14. board — to get on
  15. band — a ring
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. present — there
  18. drill — the tool
  19. game — a match
  20. stand — to bear
  21. chest — of your body
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — a practice

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