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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hand — in cards
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. board — to get on
  8. capital — a city
  9. tube — the underground
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tube — a container
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. hand — help
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. capital — money

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