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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 120 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. rock — music
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. lean — thin
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. deal — to handle
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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