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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. drill — the tool
  3. board — to get on
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fall — the season
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — to tease
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. mine — for digging
  15. band — a ring
  16. net — for catching
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. net — after costs
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — in sport
  24. mine — an explosive

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