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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pop — soda
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cap — a lid
  5. staff — employees
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — a committee
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pop — music
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. staff — a stick
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — of ice
  18. board — to get on
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tear — from crying
  21. staff — employees
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cell — a phone
  24. straw — dry grass

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