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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. ball — a great time
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cold — not warm
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. squash — the sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. squash — to crush
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bank — of a river
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bank — for money
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. board — a committee
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. board — to get on
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bank — for money

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