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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 116 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — an illness
  4. board — a committee
  5. ball — a great time
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. field — farmland
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bore — to drill
  14. lean — to bend
  15. field — a subject
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bore — to tire
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. field — for sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. lean — thin
  24. fan — a supporter

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