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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cap — a lid
  3. field — for sport
  4. pit — a hole
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rock — music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. board — a committee
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cap — a hat
  12. kid — child
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rock — a stone
  16. track — to keep track
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. track — a song
  21. cap — of ice
  22. track — a path
  23. pit — in a race
  24. swing — music

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