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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. row — a line
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mate — to breed
  17. court — of law
  18. mate — a partner
  19. game — wild animals
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wave — with your hand

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