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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 116 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. ball — a great time
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. board — a committee
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bound — certain
  7. race — humankind
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. board — to get on
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bound — tied together
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bound — obliged
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cap — a lid

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