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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. field — a subject
  4. squash — to crush
  5. field — farmland
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lean — thin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. chair — a leader
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — to bend
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. board — to get on
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. snap — to click
  23. board — a committee
  24. hide — to keep secret

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