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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: cap · board · rule · trunk · track · straw · hand · bass

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. board — a committee
  6. cap — of ice
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. hand — help
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rule — a law
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. track — a path
  24. rule — government

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