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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. kid — to tease
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. board — to get on
  9. season — of the year
  10. band — a music group
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. band — a ring
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. board — a committee
  17. season — in sport
  18. kid — child
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — music
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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