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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. last — final
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — a box
  13. last — to go on
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — completely
  23. last — finally
  24. board — to get on

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