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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. hand — help
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. drill — army training
  10. staff — a stick
  11. content — happy
  12. staff — employees
  13. court — of law
  14. hand — in cards
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. band — a music group
  20. cue — a hint
  21. drill — a practice
  22. content — the amount
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — part of the body

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