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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. track — a song
  5. board — a committee
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. present — there
  8. board — to get on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. drill — army training
  12. track — a path
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. drill — the tool
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. drill — a practice
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. present — the time now
  20. dip — to sink
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mine — for digging
  23. present — a gift
  24. track — to keep track

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