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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. charge — a price
  3. board — a committee
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wind — moving air
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — finally
  8. board — to get on
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spring — of water
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. spring — the season
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spring — a coil
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — to go on
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. charge — electricity
  24. wind — moving air

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