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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bank — for money
  4. band — a music group
  5. cold — an illness
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. charge — in control
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. net — in sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. board — to get on
  13. band — a ring
  14. board — a committee
  15. charge — a price
  16. shower — rain
  17. cold — not warm
  18. net — for catching
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — after costs
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bank — of a river
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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