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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. board — a committee
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — of a word
  6. spell — letters
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — in football
  11. pop — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. root — of a plant
  15. board — to get on
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. band — a music group
  19. spell — a short time
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — magic

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