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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. file — a tool
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. board — to get on
  5. file — a document
  6. net — for catching
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. net — in sport
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — rain
  17. ball — a dance
  18. board — a committee
  19. shower — to wash
  20. file — a line of people
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. net — after costs
  24. sharp — clever

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