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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. board — to get on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wind — moving air
  13. board — a committee
  14. row — a line
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fall — the season

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