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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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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: mouse · board · staff · ground · track · hand · band · ball

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ground — the earth
  3. board — to get on
  4. staff — employees
  5. track — a song
  6. hand — help
  7. band — a ring
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. board — a committee
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. track — to keep track
  14. ball — a great time
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. track — a path
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. staff — a stick
  20. band — a music group
  21. ground — a position
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ground — crushed

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