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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — to get on
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. lean — thin
  6. land — ground
  7. date — the fruit
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. land — to come down
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. land — a country
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. board — a committee
  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