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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. board — to get on
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. track — a path
  5. board — a committee
  6. bat — the animal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. track — to keep track
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. deal — to handle
  19. row — a line
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — a song

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