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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. stand — to bear
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rock — music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — child
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spring — a coil
  19. board — a committee
  20. spring — of water
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. land — a country
  24. board — to get on

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