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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a committee
  4. field — a subject
  5. board — to get on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. swing — music
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — farmland
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. chip — to eat
  15. march — the month
  16. stock — goods
  17. field — for sport
  18. stock — shares
  19. march — music
  20. chip — for betting
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pit — in a race
  24. chip — in a computer

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