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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. field — for sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. content — the amount
  15. field — a subject
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. content — happy
  19. board — to get on
  20. dip — to sink
  21. kid — child
  22. board — a committee
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — farmland

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