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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. saw — the tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bank — for money
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — a committee
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. saw — the tool
  14. game — a match
  15. board — to get on
  16. race — humankind
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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