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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wound — an injury
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pitch — completely
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — to get on
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. board — a committee
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. band — a music group
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. stock — goods
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stock — shares
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. band — a ring

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