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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. game — a match
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ground — crushed
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — a position
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. swing — in golf
  17. row — to paddle
  18. board — a committee
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. ground — the earth
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  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