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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 120 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — the amount
  5. land — a country
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bass — low music
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. board — a committee
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. band — a ring
  18. land — to come down
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. racket — for tennis

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