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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. object — to protest
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. row — to paddle
  10. board — a committee
  11. object — an aim
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cold — an illness
  20. object — a thing
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cold — not warm

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