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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. board — a committee
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. spell — letters
  9. ball — a dance
  10. root — the cause
  11. spell — a short time
  12. band — a music group
  13. bound — certain
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a ring
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bound — tied together
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. board — to get on
  23. root — of a word
  24. ball — a round shape

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