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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. mug — a face
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. board — a committee
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mug — to rob
  19. board — to get on
  20. chest — a box
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pitch — completely
  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