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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: board · club · ball · wind · arm · band · fall · row

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — a line
  10. board — to get on
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fall — to drop
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. band — a ring
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. row — to paddle
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. band — a music group

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