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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. cap — a lid
  6. band — a ring
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hand — in cards
  12. board — a committee
  13. cap — of ice
  14. net — for catching
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — help
  20. board — to get on
  21. band — a music group
  22. drill — the tool
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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