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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. staff — employees
  4. rash — hasty
  5. march — music
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — to get on
  8. rash — a series
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. row — to paddle
  11. content — the amount
  12. ground — the earth
  13. march — the month
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — happy
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. rash — on the skin

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