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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chest — of your body
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. band — a music group
  14. chest — a box
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. board — a committee
  19. chest — of your body
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. trunk — of a car
  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