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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: bass · staff · hide · tear · band · ruler · clip · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — to get on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — low music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. board — a committee
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. band — a ring
  20. staff — employees
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. staff — a stick
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. band — a music group

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