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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. kid — to tease
  9. net — in sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hand — help
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cap — of ice
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kid — child

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