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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — of ice
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kid — child
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. chair — a leader
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. board — a committee
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cap — a lid

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