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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cold — an illness
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitch — completely
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lean — thin
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. board — a committee
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bear — the animal
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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