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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. clip — for paper
  9. band — a ring
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bound — obliged
  12. band — a music group
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. board — a committee
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bound — certain
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — a video
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. clip — to cut
  22. board — to get on
  23. cell — a phone
  24. trunk — of a car

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