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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fine — high quality
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spring — the season
  11. drill — a practice
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pit — in a race
  18. drill — the tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fine — all right
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. drill — army training
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. staff — employees

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