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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: fall · sharp · cap · hand · board · wake · charge · game

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — the season
  5. charge — a price
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. charge — in control
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cap — a lid
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — a match
  23. charge — electricity
  24. wake — a trail

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