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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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. spring — the season
  4. board — to get on
  5. field — farmland
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. sharp — clever
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — to breed
  11. tear — to rip
  12. current — of water
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chair — a leader
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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