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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 120 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: fork · mate · cold · pitch · wound · lean · board · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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 ring
  2. lean — thin
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — to bend
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mate — a partner
  15. board — a committee
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mate — to breed
  20. band — a music group
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. lean — to rest against
  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