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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. row — a line
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. field — for sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fine — all right
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. chip — for betting
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — a subject
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spring — of water

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