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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: row · net · board · can · chip · wake · bat · band

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. net — for catching
  3. board — to get on
  4. wake — a trail
  5. can — a tin
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. board — a committee
  9. net — after costs
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. row — a line
  19. band — a ring
  20. net — in sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  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