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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. swing — music
  4. branch — a division
  5. pound — a weight
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. board — to get on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. file — a document
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. drill — the tool
  20. swing — in golf
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — army training
  24. pitch — a sports field

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