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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. board — to get on
  7. court — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. court — of a king
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. craft — a skill
  13. hand — help
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. rush — hurry
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. field — for sport
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. court — of law
  22. craft — boats
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — a subject

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