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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: board · deal · squash · drill · mine · rash · band · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. board — a committee
  4. drill — army training
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — for digging
  8. drill — the tool
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. band — a music group
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. band — a ring
  13. squash — to crush
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cell — in biology
  17. board — to get on
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rash — hasty
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rash — a series
  24. squash — the vegetable

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