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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. club — for dancing
  3. charge — a price
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. club — for golf
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. charge — in control
  8. wound — an injury
  9. board — to get on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. race — the arms race
  13. board — a committee
  14. saw — the tool
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. charge — electricity
  18. race — a contest
  19. club — a group
  20. race — humankind
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — a quarrel

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