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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ball — a great time
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. board — a committee
  5. spell — a short time
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. spell — magic
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. ball — a dance
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. stock — shares
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wave — of the sea

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