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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. spell — magic
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rule — government
  12. spell — letters
  13. shower — rain
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. spell — a short time
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. hand — help

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