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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. squash — the sport
  3. board — a committee
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. march — music
  14. board — to get on
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a match
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. squash — to crush
  23. deal — to handle
  24. march — the month

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