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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. board — a committee
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a line
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fine — all right
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. board — to get on
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fall — the season

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