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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · swing · roll · band · sharp · stock · kid · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kid — to tease
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. roll — a list
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. board — to get on
  8. stock — shares
  9. band — a ring
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pit — in a race
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. swing — music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stock — goods
  24. sharp — with an edge

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