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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fall — the season
  8. rash — a series
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — the animal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. last — finally
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. charge — a price
  19. last — final
  20. charge — in control
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fall — to drop
  23. board — a committee
  24. wind — moving air

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