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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. race — humankind
  8. board — to get on
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. field — for sport
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. dip — to sink
  15. land — to come down
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. stand — to bear

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