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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. content — happy
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. board — a committee
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. hand — help
  9. board — to get on
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. scale — size or range
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. object — an aim
  17. suit — clothes
  18. band — a music group
  19. suit — in cards
  20. object — to protest
  21. suit — to fit
  22. object — a thing
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a ring

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