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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. board — a committee
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. file — a tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. board — to get on
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rest — a break
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rest — what's left
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bound — certain
  20. band — a music group
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a ring
  24. file — a line of people

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