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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. march — music
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. scale — in music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. snap — to click
  14. chest — a box
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chest — of your body
  17. roll — a list
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ball — a great time
  21. roll — a cake
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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