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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 116 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 was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. march — music
  4. track — a song
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cell — a phone
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. object — a thing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. track — a path
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. march — the month
  16. object — to protest
  17. track — to keep track
  18. board — a committee
  19. bat — the animal
  20. march — the month
  21. object — an aim
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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