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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 116 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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. board — a committee
  3. scale — size or range
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. press — newspapers
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. branch — a division
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. board — to get on
  16. press — a publisher
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. press — to push
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chip — for betting

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