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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: craft · board · bulb · tube · race · band · swing · cold

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. race — humankind
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. swing — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. band — a ring
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — to play on
  15. board — to get on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — boats
  18. swing — in golf
  19. tube — a container
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. band — a music group
  22. craft — a skill
  23. race — a contest
  24. bulb — for light

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