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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. board — a committee
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hand — help
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ball — a dance
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. rash — a series
  17. chest — a box
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rash — hasty
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. board — to get on
  24. rash — on the skin

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