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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cue — a hint
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. board — to get on
  7. field — a subject
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. band — a ring
  10. current — of water
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. board — a committee
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — not warm
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. current — electric
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cue — for pool
  24. current — happening now

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