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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bear — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. file — a line of people
  6. board — a committee
  7. last — finally
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. file — a tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. board — to get on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a document
  18. game — wild animals

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