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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — the season
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — music
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. object — a thing
  15. spring — of water
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. object — an aim
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. object — to protest
  21. march — music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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