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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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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: stick · squash · fall · staff · bulb · board · cold · club

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. staff — employees
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a committee
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — a group
  8. fall — the season
  9. staff — employees
  10. board — to get on
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. club — for golf
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. club — for dancing

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