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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — to paddle
  7. board — a committee
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — shares
  11. fall — to drop
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fall — the season
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. board — to get on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — a line
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mine — belonging to me

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