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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. track — to keep track
  4. board — to get on
  5. track — a path
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pass — a permit
  10. kick — in football
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. race — a contest
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — an illness
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — not warm

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