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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — magic
  5. plane — a tool
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. scale — in music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. march — music
  12. mark — a grade
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — letters
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bat — the animal
  18. scale — size or range
  19. board — a committee
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — child
  23. march — the month
  24. scale — for weighing

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