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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: cold · bore · swing · staff · kick · roll · game · board

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. board — a committee
  3. staff — employees
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. roll — a list
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. board — to get on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. swing — music
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. game — wild animals
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — an illness
  19. swing — to play on
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — to drill
  23. swing — in golf
  24. roll — a cake

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