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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bulb — for light
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pop — music
  13. board — a committee
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. board — to get on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. band — a music group
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. band — a ring
  21. pop — soda
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. snap — to click

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