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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 116 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — to get on
  3. deal — to handle
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — a phone
  6. board — a committee
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a music group
  11. bank — of a river
  12. band — a ring
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. saw — the tool
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bank — for money
  21. cell — in biology
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. row — to paddle

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