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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. scale — in music
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. scale — size or range
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mate — to breed
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cue — a signal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. file — a tool
  19. plane — a tool
  20. board — a committee
  21. file — a document
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. board — to get on

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