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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. race — a contest
  3. file — a tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. race — the arms race
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. board — to get on
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fall — the season
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hand — help
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bass — low music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. board — a committee
  20. race — humankind
  21. fall — to drop
  22. file — a document
  23. deal — to handle
  24. file — a line of people

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