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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. object — an aim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. object — a thing
  5. board — to get on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. band — a music group
  8. land — ground
  9. race — a contest
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — a committee
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. object — to protest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — a line
  18. band — a ring
  19. row — to paddle
  20. race — humankind
  21. land — to come down
  22. press — a publisher
  23. land — a country
  24. wound — an injury

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