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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. row — a line
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. capital — money
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. board — to get on

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