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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. stand — to bear
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. cell — in biology
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cell — a phone
  16. board — a committee
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mine — for digging
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fan — a supporter

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