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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. capital — money
  4. toast — bread
  5. rock — music
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. board — to get on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wake — a trail
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. capital — a city

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