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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. last — to go on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — a hat
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fall — the season
  8. cap — a lid
  9. net — for catching
  10. swing — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. last — final
  14. board — a committee
  15. file — a tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. swing — to play on
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — in sport
  22. last — finally
  23. net — after costs
  24. file — a document

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