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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. march — music
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mug — a face
  13. chest — a box
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mug — a cup
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mug — to rob
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. board — to get on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. board — a committee

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