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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. board — to get on
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bass — the fish
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. key — in music
  8. bass — low music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. dip — to sink
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. key — the most important part
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. key — for a lock
  18. lean — to bend
  19. shower — rain
  20. lean — thin
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. board — a flat piece

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