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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. board — to get on
  3. cue — a hint
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. board — a committee
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mark — a trace
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bat — the animal
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cue — a signal
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. squash — to crush
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — for baseball

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