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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. scale — in music
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mark — a grade
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wake — a trail
  8. branch — a division
  9. court — of law
  10. mark — a trace
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. board — a committee
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. court — of a king
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. court — for sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a music group
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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