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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. board — a committee
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. board — to get on
  10. fine — all right
  11. saw — the tool
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. saw — the tool

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