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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. swing — in golf
  3. game — wild animals
  4. swing — music
  5. field — a subject
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — the month
  9. content — happy
  10. board — a committee
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — a match
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. board — to get on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — a division
  21. content — the amount
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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