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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. track — a path
  3. board — to get on
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bound — tied together
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bound — certain
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — child
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. race — humankind
  19. board — a committee
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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