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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. march — the month
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — to get on
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — a match
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. root — of a plant
  14. spring — the season
  15. board — a committee
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — of water
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. root — the cause
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. spring — a coil
  22. march — music
  23. root — of a word
  24. hide — to keep secret

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