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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 116 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. hand — help
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. board — a committee
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lean — thin
  13. squash — the sport
  14. ground — a position
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. board — to get on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. capital — money
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. ground — crushed
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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