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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. board — a committee
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. board — to get on
  13. row — a line
  14. bear — the animal
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. row — to paddle
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kick — in football
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — in sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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