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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. staff — employees
  8. deal — to handle
  9. land — ground
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. file — a tool
  18. hand — in cards
  19. land — a country
  20. ground — a position
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — a trail
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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