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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pop — music
  5. file — a tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — soda
  12. wound — an injury
  13. present — the time now
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. board — to get on
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pop — to visit
  18. file — a document
  19. hand — help
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stem — to come from
  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