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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: ball · rest · bear · spell · field · board · band · wind

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. spell — magic
  4. board — to get on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a music group
  10. rest — a break
  11. spell — letters
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — a subject
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. spell — a short time
  17. band — a ring
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — farmland
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ball — a dance
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bear — the animal

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