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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. board — a committee
  3. court — for sport
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rush — hurry
  10. land — ground
  11. file — a line of people
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. court — of a king
  15. land — to come down
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. file — a document
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. board — to get on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rush — a thrill

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