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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 116 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. squash — the sport
  3. firm — decided
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. board — to get on
  7. court — of a king
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. land — ground
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of law
  15. firm — steady
  16. bat — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — a city
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — for sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — a committee

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