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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. last — finally
  5. hand — help
  6. row — a line
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. hand — in cards
  9. last — final
  10. race — the arms race
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mark — a trace
  13. board — to get on
  14. kick — in football
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. board — a committee
  19. race — humankind
  20. net — for catching
  21. last — to go on
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. race — a contest
  24. mark — a grade

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