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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: rest · board · kid · row · bowl · wound · ruler · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. board — to get on
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — an injury
  13. board — a committee
  14. rest — a break
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. row — a line
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bowl — to roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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