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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — what's left
  6. board — to get on
  7. rest — a break
  8. firm — a company
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. game — wild animals
  21. snap — to click
  22. firm — decided
  23. firm — steady
  24. row — a line

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