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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 bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. deal — to handle
  4. scale — in music
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. band — a ring
  8. track — a path
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — the amount
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. track — a song
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. content — happy
  17. band — a music group
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. board — a committee

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