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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. roll — a list
  3. pop — to visit
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bat — the animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. land — ground
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pop — music
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. roll — a cake
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. board — to get on
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. land — a country
  20. saw — the tool
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pop — soda
  23. land — to come down
  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