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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: ball · chair · hand · sharp · ground · game · club · board

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. ball — a great time
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. board — to get on
  12. game — a match
  13. chair — a leader
  14. ground — crushed
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. club — for golf
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. hand — help
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. club — for dancing
  24. ball — a dance

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