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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. content — the amount
  5. row — to paddle
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — a short time
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kid — child
  10. can — to be able to
  11. row — a line
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. spell — magic
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spell — letters
  20. board — to get on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. march — the month
  23. content — happy
  24. jam — in traffic

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