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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. dip — to sink
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a committee
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. board — to get on
  14. land — ground
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. roll — a cake
  17. land — to come down
  18. stock — goods
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. land — a country
  23. row — to paddle
  24. dip — to dunk

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