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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 116 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: row · land · fall · board · pitcher · march · racket · sharp

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — to paddle
  4. land — ground
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. board — to get on
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — a country
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — music
  12. row — a line
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. land — to come down
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. board — a committee
  24. march — the month

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