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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 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bank — for money
  3. game — wild animals
  4. board — a committee
  5. bank — for money
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. net — after costs
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bank — of a river
  11. game — a match
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. net — for catching
  16. board — to get on
  17. net — in sport
  18. shower — rain

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