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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. rock — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rock — to move gently

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