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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. object — to protest
  4. board — a committee
  5. sharp — clever
  6. game — a match
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. race — a contest
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stock — shares
  12. object — a thing
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. race — humankind
  16. game — wild animals
  17. board — to get on
  18. object — an aim
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. race — the arms race
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bound — tied together

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