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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: chest · board · game · mate · perch · cabinet · tear · spell

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chest — a box
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. spell — magic
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. board — to get on
  20. spell — a short time
  21. game — a match
  22. mate — a friend
  23. spell — letters
  24. perch — for a bird

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