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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. board — a committee
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. board — to get on
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rock — a stone
  15. last — to go on
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — of a plant
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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