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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a document
  5. bound — certain
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. board — to get on
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. bound — obliged
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bound — tied together
  20. march — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitch — completely

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