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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. board — to get on
  5. bat — the animal
  6. file — a tool
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mate — to breed
  9. board — a committee
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mate — a partner
  21. file — a document
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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