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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stand — to bear
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spring — of water
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — the month
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. deal — to handle
  22. spring — the season
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. march — 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