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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. board — a committee
  3. season — of the year
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. board — to get on
  16. season — in sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. court — of a king
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. court — of law

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