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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. branch — a division
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. file — a tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. file — a document
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. board — to get on
  24. plane — a tool

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