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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mate — a friend
  3. board — to get on
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — a committee
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. race — a contest
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hand — help
  20. race — humankind
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — farmland

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