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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. current — happening now
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chest — of your body
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. field — for sport
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — to get on
  20. chest — a box
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chest — of your body
  23. field — farmland
  24. scale — in music

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