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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 120 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spring — the season
  5. rash — a series
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — from crying
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — hasty
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rest — a break
  21. spring — a coil
  22. board — to get on
  23. spring — of water
  24. rock — to move gently

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