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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chest — a box
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — the season
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — a short time
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. last — finally
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. spring — of water
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — magic
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bay — a horse colour

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