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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — a committee
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bass — the fish
  10. squash — to crush
  11. row — a line
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — money
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. row — to paddle
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. board — to get on
  24. row — a quarrel

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