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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. board — a committee
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. board — to get on
  8. wax — to grow
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. row — to paddle
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — a line
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. swing — music

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