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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: wind · board · tube · hand · scale · cell · face · stick

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. tube — a container
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — to get on
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — to confront
  18. scale — in music
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cell — in biology
  24. face — to point toward

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