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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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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. last — finally
  6. vault — a safe
  7. last — final
  8. charge — in control
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — to go on
  12. charge — electricity
  13. mine — for digging
  14. charge — a price
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year

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