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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. board — a committee
  3. rock — music
  4. content — happy
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. board — to get on
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. present — a gift
  12. game — a match
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. content — the amount
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mine — for digging
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now

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