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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rest — what's left
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. game — a match
  8. hand — help
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. board — to get on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. board — a committee
  19. perch — the fish
  20. race — a contest
  21. hand — in cards
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. nail — for a hammer

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