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

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — the animal
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. track — a song
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. board — to get on
  7. track — to keep track
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. kick — in football
  10. board — a committee
  11. track — a path
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. board — a flat piece

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