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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. board — to get on
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. race — the arms race
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. swing — music
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — a position
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. race — a contest
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fall — the season
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fall — to drop
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. board — a committee
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. race — humankind
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. toast — bread

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