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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — to tease
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. last — finally
  8. game — a match
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tube — a container
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. date — the fruit
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. last — final
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. last — to go on
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. kid — child

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