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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. last — final
  4. court — of law
  5. field — farmland
  6. root — the cause
  7. craft — a skill
  8. root — of a plant
  9. court — for sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. last — finally
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. root — of a word
  14. court — of a king
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. craft — boats

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