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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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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: racket · lean · row · sharp · tube · band · straw · board

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tube — the underground
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tube — a container
  8. lean — to bend
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. board — a committee
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. board — to get on
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. band — a music group
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — to paddle
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. lean — thin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. row — a line

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