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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. last — final
  3. band — a music group
  4. last — finally
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. board — a committee
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. tube — the underground
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bat — the animal
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chest — of your body
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. chest — a box
  22. bark — to shout
  23. band — a ring
  24. bark — of a tree

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