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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — to wash
  9. board — to get on
  10. pit — a hole
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. capital — a city
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. game — wild animals
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rest — a break
  20. ball — a dance
  21. capital — money
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. board — a flat piece

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