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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — to get on
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — a line
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — for catching
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. net — in sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — to rob
  18. board — a committee
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bat — in an idiom

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