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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. charge — a price
  5. board — a committee
  6. charge — electricity
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — farmland
  11. charge — in control
  12. field — a subject
  13. bore — to drill
  14. band — a ring
  15. date — the fruit
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bore — to tire
  18. board — to get on
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. date — on the calendar

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