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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. roll — a list
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rash — hasty
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — a committee
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rash — a series
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — boats
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. wind — to turn a key

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