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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. net — after costs
  6. mine — for digging
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — a subject
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. perch — the fish
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. field — farmland
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. net — in sport
  18. lie — to recline
  19. net — for catching
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. field — for sport
  24. board — a committee

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