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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — a city
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. tear — from crying
  7. object — to protest
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. object — an aim
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. object — a thing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — rain
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. spring — of water
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. capital — money

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