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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. board — a committee
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. band — a music group
  7. wake — a trail
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. band — a ring
  12. object — to protest
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. board — to get on
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. board — a flat piece

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