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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. board — a committee
  3. band — a music group
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. bat — the animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stock — shares
  13. spring — of water
  14. band — a ring
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — to get on
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ball — a great time
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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