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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. board — a committee
  6. row — a line
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a match
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mate — a partner
  17. scale — in music
  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