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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — to point toward
  3. board — to get on
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. staff — a stick
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. saw — the tool
  8. swing — to play on
  9. staff — employees
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. saw — the tool
  12. board — a committee
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. swing — in golf
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — not warm
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — the fish
  21. march — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. swing — music
  24. face — part of the head

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