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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. board — a committee
  12. chair — a leader
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. game — wild animals
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wake — a trail
  21. board — to get on
  22. branch — a division
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. branch — of a bank

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