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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. board — to get on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a music group
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. deal — to handle
  14. date — the fruit
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. band — a ring
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — a video
  19. row — a line
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. clip — for paper
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — a flat piece

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