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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pitch — completely
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. board — to get on
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. march — the month
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. craft — boats
  18. scale — size or range
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. craft — a skill
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. march — music

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