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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. board — a committee
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. row — to paddle
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cell — a phone
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. file — a document
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — help
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. board — to get on
  18. tube — a container
  19. ground — a position
  20. hand — in cards
  21. ground — the earth
  22. file — a tool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. tube — the underground

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