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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — a law
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — help
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. snap — to click
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. spring — of water
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rule — government
  21. ball — a great time
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. squash — the vegetable

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