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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. board — a committee
  7. bulb — for light
  8. game — a match
  9. mate — a partner
  10. board — to get on
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. file — a line of people
  15. court — of a king
  16. file — a document
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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