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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — the season
  3. land — ground
  4. board — a committee
  5. current — of water
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. chair — a leader
  8. board — to get on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. current — electric
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. land — a country
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — to come down
  23. current — happening now
  24. chair — to sit 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