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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. band — a ring
  16. stem — to come from
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. band — a music group
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chair — a leader

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