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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. face — to confront
  3. board — to get on
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. face — to point toward
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. land — ground
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. land — to come down
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. stock — shares
  18. land — a country
  19. face — part of the head
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. game — a match
  22. bass — the fish
  23. stock — goods
  24. game — wild animals

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