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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 120 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. wind — moving air
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pitch — completely
  10. court — of a king
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. board — to get on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. hand — help
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — a tool
  22. court — of law
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rush — hurry

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