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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: saw · board · game · clip · coach · suit · spell · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. game — wild animals
  4. roll — a list
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spell — magic
  7. board — a committee
  8. suit — clothes
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. saw — the tool
  15. game — a match
  16. suit — to fit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spell — letters
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. board — to get on
  22. suit — in cards
  23. clip — to cut
  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