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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. net — in sport
  5. rush — hurry
  6. net — for catching
  7. ball — a great time
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. ball — a dance
  10. face — to confront
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. spring — a coil
  14. saw — the tool
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. net — after costs
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. saw — the tool

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