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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. land — to come down
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. board — a committee
  8. plane — a tool
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. land — a country
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. land — ground
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. board — to get on
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kid — child
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  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