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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · rest · band · kick · race · board

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. band — a music group
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rest — a break
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. band — a ring
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. kick — in football
  15. bear — the animal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. board — a flat piece

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