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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. toast — bread
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — money
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. capital — a city
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. charge — in control
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — an injury
  23. charge — a price
  24. capital — a big letter

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