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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pop — soda
  3. board — a committee
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pop — to visit
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pop — music
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. spring — of water
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. toast — bread
  20. game — wild animals
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. board — to get on
  24. foot — a measure

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