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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 116 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 · spring · band · current · branch · cue · face · ground

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. current — electric
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cue — for pool
  9. current — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — a position
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — of water
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. branch — a division
  21. face — to point toward
  22. board — a committee
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. current — happening now

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