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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. last — final
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ground — the earth
  5. board — a committee
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. scale — in music
  11. ground — a position
  12. present — there
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. last — finally
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. board — to get on
  20. last — to go on
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. ground — crushed
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. jam — a tight spot

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