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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: game · ball · sharp · calf · row · pound · pop · board

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pop — soda
  5. game — a match
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pound — a weight
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. ball — a dance
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — wild animals
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. row — to paddle
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. row — a line
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. board — a committee
  24. pop — music

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