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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. track — a path
  7. board — to get on
  8. press — newspapers
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. bark — to shout
  12. track — a song
  13. chest — a box
  14. press — a publisher
  15. row — to paddle
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. board — a committee
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. press — to push
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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