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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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Word bank
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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: last · band · board · file · rush · jam · plane · court

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. last — finally
  5. court — for sport
  6. last — final
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. court — of law
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rush — hurry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. last — to go on
  16. band — a music group
  17. file — a document
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. board — to get on
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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