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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. board — to get on
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. land — a country
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — an illness
  14. game — wild animals
  15. face — to point toward
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. face — part of the head
  19. game — a match
  20. face — to confront
  21. board — a committee
  22. craft — boats
  23. land — ground
  24. cold — not warm

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