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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. kick — in football
  7. pit — in a race
  8. board — to get on
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. land — a country
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pit — a hole
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — ground
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bore — to tire
  21. land — to come down
  22. race — the arms race
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bat — for baseball

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