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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. pop — music
  3. wake — a trail
  4. board — to get on
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stock — shares
  9. tear — to rip
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. root — of a plant
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — from crying

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