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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. court — for sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. squash — the sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. spring — a coil
  13. swing — music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. land — a country
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — ground
  19. swing — to play on
  20. court — of law
  21. land — to come down
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — hurry

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