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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. board — a committee
  5. march — the month
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. net — for catching
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. current — of water
  11. board — to get on
  12. current — happening now
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. ground — crushed
  19. net — in sport
  20. current — electric
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. ground — the earth
  24. net — after costs

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