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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. game — a match
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. game — wild animals
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. season — in sport
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. current — happening now
  11. board — a committee
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. board — to get on
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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