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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. object — to protest
  3. board — to get on
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. object — an aim
  8. row — a line
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — in biology
  16. object — a thing
  17. board — a committee
  18. press — a publisher
  19. row — to paddle
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cell — a phone
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. band — a music group
  24. fan — a supporter

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