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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — for betting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bore — to drill
  14. spell — magic
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fall — the season
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. board — a committee
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — a short time
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bore — to tire
  24. wind — to turn a key

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