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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. plane — a tool
  3. roll — a cake
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — an illness
  6. roll — a list
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. firm — decided
  9. board — to get on
  10. firm — a company
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cold — not warm
  19. firm — steady
  20. wound — an injury
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. roll — on a roll

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