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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. board — to get on
  4. spell — letters
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — a position
  13. wax — to grow
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — a committee
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — magic
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitch — completely
  22. chest — a box
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spell — a short time

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