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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. board — a committee
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — in sport
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. season — of the year
  24. board — a flat piece

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