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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — to get on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. board — a committee
  7. land — ground
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. deal — to handle
  13. row — to paddle
  14. land — a country
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lean — thin
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. land — to come down
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — an illness

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