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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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468
Word bank
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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cell — in biology
  6. present — there
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. band — a ring
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. band — a music group
  15. present — the time now
  16. dip — to sink
  17. face — part of the head
  18. present — a gift
  19. face — to confront
  20. fork — in a road
  21. club — a group
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. board — to get on

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