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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 · board · wound · present · roll · tube · straw · current

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. roll — a cake
  5. present — the time now
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. board — a committee
  10. current — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — the underground
  15. current — electric
  16. present — a gift
  17. game — a match
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. present — there
  20. tube — a container
  21. current — happening now
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. board — to get on
  24. game — wild animals

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