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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wax — to grow
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chest — a box
  7. board — to get on
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. board — a committee
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. drill — army training
  12. season — in sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. sharp — clever
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. season — of the year
  24. chest — of your body

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