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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. board — a committee
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. kick — in football
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bat — the animal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fall — to drop
  23. board — to get on
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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