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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. chest — a box
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bat — the animal
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — to play on
  12. kick — in football
  13. staff — employees
  14. swing — in golf
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. staff — employees
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. row — a line
  19. board — a committee
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. staff — a stick
  22. swing — music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. row — to paddle

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