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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. race — a contest
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — humankind
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. board — to get on
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. board — a committee
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. court — of law

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