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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. board — a committee
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mark — a trace
  6. board — to get on
  7. mark — a grade
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. drill — army training
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — the tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hand — help
  20. drill — a practice
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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