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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. tube — the underground
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rest — a break
  10. board — to get on
  11. shower — rain
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. tube — a container
  15. hand — help
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. land — ground
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. hand — part of the body

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