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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — to get on
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. key — in music
  8. cap — a lid
  9. drill — army training
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. board — a committee
  13. branch — a division
  14. wind — moving air
  15. key — the most important part
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bark — to shout
  24. key — for a lock

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