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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — a committee
  3. race — a contest
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. squash — to crush
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. board — to get on
  12. game — a match
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — to trim
  15. march — the month
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — a phone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. march — music
  24. game — a kind of play

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