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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. board — to get on
  4. snap — to click
  5. board — a committee
  6. band — a ring
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — electric
  9. clip — to cut
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cell — a phone
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. current — of water
  17. band — a music group
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rule — a law
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. clip — for paper
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. current — happening now

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