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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. stock — goods
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rock — music
  7. game — a match
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. game — wild animals
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. last — finally
  14. bulb — for light
  15. board — to get on
  16. stock — shares
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. spring — a coil
  21. board — a committee
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. rock — a stone

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