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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. net — after costs
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. board — a committee
  9. scale — in music
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — an injury
  12. board — to get on
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. net — in sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wound — an injury
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. plane — a tool

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