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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pop — to visit
  3. track — to keep track
  4. board — to get on
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rash — hasty
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. track — a song
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — a series
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. track — a path
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. board — a committee
  24. cell — in biology

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