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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. board — a committee
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cold — not warm
  11. game — a match
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. board — to get on
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wake — a trail

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