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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. drill — a practice
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. drill — army training
  9. board — to get on
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mark — a grade
  14. game — a match
  15. board — a committee
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rash — a series
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. row — to paddle
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pitch — completely
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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