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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. squash — the sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. squash — to crush
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — the animal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. board — a committee
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. row — a line

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