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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cue — a signal
  5. board — to get on
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. board — a committee
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — music
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. branch — a division
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — help
  16. field — for sport
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. field — farmland
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. field — a subject
  24. march — the month

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