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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. dip — to sink
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. sharp — clever
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. foot — a measure
  14. march — the month
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. march — music
  17. spell — a short time
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. mine — for digging
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mine — an explosive

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