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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bear — the animal
  3. charge — electricity
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — to paddle
  7. board — a committee
  8. charge — in control
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. board — to get on
  11. bear — the animal
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. charge — a price
  15. key — in music
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spring — the season
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — of water
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — the most important part
  22. row — a line
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bear — to put up with

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