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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. board — a committee
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. track — to keep track
  5. mine — for digging
  6. march — music
  7. row — a line
  8. stock — goods
  9. track — a song
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. board — to get on
  14. shower — to wash
  15. track — a path
  16. bass — low music
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — the fish
  24. march — the month

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