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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. file — a tool
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. race — humankind
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cell — in biology
  8. season — of the year
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. race — the arms race
  12. shower — rain
  13. board — to get on
  14. cell — a phone
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. board — a committee
  19. shower — to wash
  20. file — a document
  21. season — in sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — a contest
  24. band — a ring

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