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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. saw — the tool
  3. firm — steady
  4. board — a committee
  5. march — music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. firm — decided
  10. kid — to tease
  11. march — the month
  12. season — of the year
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. firm — a company
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. march — the month
  21. board — to get on
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — child

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