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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. board — a committee
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. board — to get on
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — boats
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chest — a box
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chair — a leader

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