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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pound — a weight
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. net — after costs
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. land — a country
  11. board — a committee
  12. land — to come down
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. land — ground
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chest — a box
  17. board — to get on
  18. net — for catching
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chest — of your body
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. cabinet — ministers

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