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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mate — a friend
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. board — to get on
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mate — to breed
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — a partner
  10. root — of a plant
  11. race — the arms race
  12. swing — to play on
  13. track — a song
  14. prune — to trim
  15. track — a path
  16. race — a contest
  17. swing — in golf
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. swing — music
  20. track — to keep track
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — humankind
  24. file — a tool

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