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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cell — in biology
  5. saw — the tool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. drill — army training
  11. sharp — clever
  12. board — to get on
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. last — finally
  15. drill — a practice
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. game — a match
  18. cell — a phone
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. last — to go on
  23. saw — the tool
  24. drill — the tool

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