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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: ball · band · face · field · leaves · toast · board · lean

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. field — for sport
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. ball — a dance
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. lean — to bend
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — to confront
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. lean — thin
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. face — to point toward
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ball — a great time
  22. toast — bread
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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