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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rock — music
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rock — a stone
  20. last — finally
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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