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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. squash — the sport
  4. board — to get on
  5. march — the month
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. march — music
  8. wake — a trail
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. scale — in music
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. board — a committee
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cell — in biology
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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