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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bore — to tire
  3. hand — help
  4. club — a group
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rule — a law
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rule — government
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. board — to get on
  24. perch — for a bird

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