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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bat — the animal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. board — to get on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. firm — decided
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. firm — a company
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rash — hasty
  15. row — a line
  16. firm — steady
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rash — a series
  19. board — a committee
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. board — a flat piece

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