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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rock — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rock — a stone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. vault — a safe
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. game — a match
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stock — shares
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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