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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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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: deal · board · cold · bat · band · clip · cabinet · bowl

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cold — not warm
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. board — a committee
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bat — the animal
  14. band — a ring
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. band — a music group
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bat — in an idiom

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