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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. board — a committee
  5. ball — a great time
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fall — the season
  8. ground — a position
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ball — a dance
  11. land — to come down
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. land — ground
  16. ground — crushed
  17. content — happy
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fine — all right
  22. ground — the earth
  23. board — to get on
  24. land — a country

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