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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. row — a line
  3. spring — the season
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stand — to bear
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. board — to get on
  12. court — of law
  13. board — a committee
  14. spring — a coil
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. pound — a weight
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. court — of a king
  24. stand — on your feet

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