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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a music group
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a committee
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. drill — army training
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cue — for pool
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — a division
  24. drill — the tool

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