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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. rest — a break
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. march — the month
  15. rest — what's left
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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