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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pit — a hole
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. game — a match
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. swing — music
  9. board — a committee
  10. craft — boats
  11. tear — from crying
  12. root — of a word
  13. board — to get on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — to play on
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. root — the cause
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — of a plant
  21. pit — in a race
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. game — wild animals
  24. tear — to rip

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