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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · game · scale · rule · net · board · bat · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — government
  3. net — after costs
  4. game — wild animals
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. board — to get on
  11. net — for catching
  12. bat — the animal
  13. game — a match
  14. board — a committee
  15. rule — a law
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. track — a path
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. net — in sport
  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