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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 124 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. craft — boats
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bore — to tire
  7. face — part of the head
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bore — to drill
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. sharp — clever
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. craft — a skill
  17. branch — a division
  18. band — a ring
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. band — a music group
  24. pitch — completely

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