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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. march — the month
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. board — to get on
  8. march — music
  9. game — a match
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. game — wild animals
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. dip — to sink
  22. hand — in cards
  23. board — a committee
  24. coach — a trainer

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