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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chest — a box
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. field — a subject
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to sink
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. root — the cause
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. root — of a word

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