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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. rock — music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. press — newspapers
  6. board — a committee
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. press — to push
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. board — to get on
  13. game — wild animals
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. field — for sport
  16. rock — a stone
  17. game — a match
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. press — a publisher
  24. game — a kind of play

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