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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. board — to get on
  3. squash — to crush
  4. game — wild animals
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. face — part of the head
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. game — a match
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. board — a committee
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. face — to confront
  20. squash — the sport
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — to come from

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