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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. toast — bread
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pound — a weight
  5. dip — to sink
  6. drill — the tool
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. spring — a coil
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. file — a tool
  17. board — to get on
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — army training

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