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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 116 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. prune — to trim
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. scale — size or range
  8. charge — a price
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. band — a music group
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — in music
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. fall — to drop
  17. march — the month
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. board — a committee
  20. band — a ring
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. march — music

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