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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. swing — to play on
  5. game — a match
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. game — wild animals
  8. swing — in golf
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wake — a trail
  11. swing — music
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. board — a committee
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a line
  18. rash — a series
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wound — an injury
  21. board — to get on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. rash — hasty

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