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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. board — a committee
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — to play on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. root — of a word
  8. swing — in golf
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — music
  17. band — a ring
  18. root — of a plant
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. capital — money
  22. root — the cause
  23. band — a music group
  24. capital — a city

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