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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — a song
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a line of people
  10. track — a path
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. file — a document
  13. track — to keep track
  14. kid — child
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. file — a tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tear — from crying
  24. board — a committee

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