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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. chest — a box
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. march — the month
  14. board — to get on
  15. chest — of your body
  16. board — a committee
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fork — in a road
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. march — music
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chest — of your body

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