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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. game — a match
  8. board — a committee
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. object — an aim
  12. stem — to come from
  13. board — to get on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. object — a thing
  16. file — a document
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. object — to protest
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. game — wild animals

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