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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. squash — the sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. board — to get on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — the month
  15. board — a committee
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. scale — size or range
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. march — 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