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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 120 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ball — a dance
  6. board — a committee
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. field — for sport
  9. ball — a great time
  10. field — a subject
  11. board — to get on
  12. field — farmland
  13. kid — child
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. ball — a round shape

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