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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — a price
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of law
  7. board — a committee
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — the arms race
  11. court — for sport
  12. sharp — clever
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. charge — electricity
  17. board — to get on
  18. court — of a king
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. charge — in control
  22. prune — to trim
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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