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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: cue · board · band · pitcher · sharp · mug · wound · land

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mug — a cup
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a ring
  6. land — a country
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mug — to rob
  9. land — ground
  10. mug — a face
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cue — a signal
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cue — a hint
  24. land — to come down

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