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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. land — ground
  6. march — music
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. board — to get on
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. ball — a great time
  18. land — a country
  19. deal — to handle
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mine — for digging
  23. march — the month
  24. ball — a dance

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