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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. board — to get on
  11. march — the month
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. board — a committee
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. march — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rest — a break
  22. cell — in biology
  23. can — a tin
  24. arm — a part of something

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