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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. present — a gift
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. band — a ring
  7. rest — a break
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. board — a committee
  11. present — the time now
  12. kid — child
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. board — to get on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wind — moving air
  21. present — there
  22. band — a music group
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bat — for baseball

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