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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 120 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. content — happy
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. mate — a partner
  6. board — a committee
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mate — to breed
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. game — a match
  17. board — to get on
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. content — videos and posts

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