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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. shower — rain
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — for sport
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. band — a ring
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. date — the fruit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. clip — to cut
  21. court — of a king
  22. band — a music group
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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