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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. rock — music
  5. spell — magic
  6. snap — to click
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a match
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kick — in football
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rock — a stone
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wax — to grow
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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