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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. squash — the sport
  4. board — to get on
  5. dip — to sink
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. tube — a container
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — to crush
  16. saw — the tool
  17. board — a committee
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cold — not warm
  23. saw — the tool
  24. dip — a sauce

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