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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. board — to get on
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rash — a series
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a music group
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. board — a committee
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a ring
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — not warm
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — of water
  24. bulb — for light

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