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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. kid — to tease
  3. file — a document
  4. mate — a partner
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. board — to get on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. press — to push
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. file — a tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. kid — child
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pound — a weight
  16. board — a committee
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. press — a publisher
  22. foot — a measure
  23. press — newspapers
  24. foot — part of the body

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