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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stand — to bear
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — to get on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a committee
  10. tear — to rip
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg

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