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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mine — for digging
  3. lean — thin
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rash — a series
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a music group
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lean — to bend
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. band — a ring
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. sharp — clever

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