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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: bat · fork · pit · cap · shower · stand · board · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. band — a music group
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bat — the animal
  4. board — to get on
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fork — in a road
  7. board — a committee
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. band — a ring
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cap — of ice
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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