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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rule — a law
  4. band — a ring
  5. court — for sport
  6. board — a committee
  7. staff — a stick
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. band — a music group
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. rule — government
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — to bend
  16. clip — a video
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. staff — employees
  19. board — to get on
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — thin
  24. band — a rubber band

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