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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wound — an injury
  6. board — to get on
  7. game — a match
  8. rash — hasty
  9. snap — to click
  10. staff — employees
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lie — to recline
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. march — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. board — a committee
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — the month
  24. board — a flat piece

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