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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — not warm
  6. press — to push
  7. board — a committee
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. press — newspapers
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. content — the amount
  24. board — a flat piece

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