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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. board — a committee
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — magic
  5. key — for a lock
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spell — letters
  8. key — the most important part
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spell — a short time
  13. ground — the earth
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — crushed
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — a position
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — wild animals
  22. board — to get on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. key — in 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