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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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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: perch · game · arm · straw · mine · wind · object · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. perch — the fish
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. board — a committee
  7. game — a match
  8. object — to protest
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — to get on
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — for digging
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. game — a kind of play

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