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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. board — to get on
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fork — in a road
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. board — a committee
  21. mine — for digging
  22. swing — music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. tube — a container

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