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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — farmland
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fine — high quality
  15. field — for sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. fine — all right
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. fine — a penalty

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