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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. plane — a tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bound — certain
  12. game — a match
  13. board — a committee
  14. bound — tied together
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. shower — to wash
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. board — to get on
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. plane — an aircraft

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