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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. file — a tool
  3. toast — bread
  4. suit — to fit
  5. field — for sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. board — a committee
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. field — farmland
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. swing — music
  13. suit — clothes
  14. file — a document
  15. tube — the underground
  16. file — a line of people
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. suit — in cards
  19. swing — in golf
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. swing — to play on
  22. field — a subject
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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