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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rest — what's left
  5. game — a match
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chest — a box
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rest — a break
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stem — of a plant

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