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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. file — a line of people
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — a coil
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. spring — the season
  7. board — to get on
  8. pop — music
  9. mug — to rob
  10. band — a ring
  11. board — a committee
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mug — a face
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mug — a cup
  16. file — a document
  17. spring — of water
  18. file — a tool
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pop — soda
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — to visit
  24. patient — a sick person

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