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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. row — to paddle
  3. lean — to bend
  4. board — to get on
  5. lean — thin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. prune — to trim
  8. game — wild animals
  9. board — a committee
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. scale — in music
  12. game — a match
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spring — a coil
  15. row — a line
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. spring — the season
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mate — a partner
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mate — a friend
  23. scale — size or range
  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