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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. board — a committee
  3. track — a song
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — magic
  10. board — to get on
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spell — letters
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. spell — a short time

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