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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. board — a committee
  3. mine — for digging
  4. roll — a cake
  5. face — to confront
  6. kid — to tease
  7. roll — a list
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. band — a ring
  10. kid — child
  11. band — a music group
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. board — to get on
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. face — to point toward
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. face — part of the head
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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