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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fall — the season
  4. board — to get on
  5. chip — for betting
  6. fall — to drop
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stem — to come from
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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