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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. season — of the year
  4. bound — tied together
  5. board — to get on
  6. chest — a box
  7. pound — a weight
  8. court — for sport
  9. board — a committee
  10. bound — certain
  11. season — in sport
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. scale — in music
  15. court — of a king
  16. bound — obliged
  17. court — of law
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rush — hurry
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — for weighing

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