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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. snap — to click
  3. board — to get on
  4. march — the month
  5. board — a committee
  6. march — the month
  7. lie — to recline
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mine — for digging
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. scale — in music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. plane — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lie — an untruth

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