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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: last · game · board · row · coach · tear · jam · kid

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. board — a committee
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — to get on
  6. game — wild animals
  7. last — final
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. last — finally
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tear — from crying
  15. game — a match
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — child
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. tear — from crying

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