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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mug — a cup
  3. wake — a trail
  4. roll — a cake
  5. board — a committee
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. board — to get on
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — a match
  13. file — a document
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mug — to rob
  16. roll — a list
  17. ground — crushed
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mug — a face
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a tool
  24. ground — the earth

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