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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. lean — thin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bass — low music
  8. board — to get on
  9. wake — a trail
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — a country
  24. lean — to bend

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