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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stand — to bear
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. game — a match
  14. row — a line
  15. spring — the season
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. board — a committee
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. board — to get on
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. board — a flat piece

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