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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · bass · cap · game · saw · land · kid · chest

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. board — to get on
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — of your body
  13. board — a committee
  14. cap — a hat
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cap — of ice
  17. kid — child
  18. bass — low music
  19. land — ground
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cap — a lid

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