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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. board — to get on
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. board — a committee
  5. face — to confront
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — a cake
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. tear — to rip
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. row — to paddle
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. mark — a grade
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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