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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 120 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bass — low music
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. game — a match
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. content — the amount
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. staff — employees
  14. bass — the fish
  15. board — a committee
  16. content — happy
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. board — to get on
  23. mate — a partner
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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