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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. swing — in golf
  5. board — a committee
  6. season — in sport
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stock — shares
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — to play on
  14. drill — army training
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stock — goods
  17. swing — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. rash — hasty
  23. drill — a practice
  24. board — a flat piece

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