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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. board — to get on
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. board — a committee
  5. scale — size or range
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — a partner
  14. row — a line
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. prune — to trim
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. row — to paddle
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wind — moving air

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