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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. march — the month
  3. fall — the season
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. march — music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. board — to get on
  10. rash — a series
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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