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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 116 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. last — finally
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — music
  6. board — a committee
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — to go on
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rash — hasty
  11. field — a subject
  12. last — final
  13. rash — a series
  14. court — for sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. field — for sport
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. court — of a king
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of law

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