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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mark — a grade
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. board — to get on
  5. file — a tool
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. file — a document
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mark — a trace
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cold — not warm
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. toast — bread
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a line of people

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