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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — a committee
  7. game — a match
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bark — to shout
  11. race — the arms race
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mate — a friend
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rock — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. chest — a box
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rock — a stone
  23. board — to get on
  24. race — humankind

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