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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. board — a committee
  8. root — the cause
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. root — of a word
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fork — in a road
  16. lean — thin
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — in biology

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