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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. file — a document
  10. mark — a trace
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pitch — completely
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. board — to get on
  16. file — a tool
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cold — the Cold War

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