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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 120 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. game — a match
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. chair — a leader
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. board — a committee
  19. dip — to sink
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — for digging
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. board — to get on

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