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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. rash — hasty
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. vault — a safe
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — a series
  24. board — a flat piece

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