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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. land — ground
  5. pit — a hole
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. shower — rain
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. board — a committee
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. board — to get on
  21. land — to come down
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bat — in an idiom

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