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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. deal — to handle
  3. spring — the season
  4. board — to get on
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — rain
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. last — final
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spring — of water
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. swing — music
  15. hand — help
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. last — finally
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. board — a committee
  23. shower — to wash
  24. hand — in cards

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