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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. fine — all right
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. field — for sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. field — a subject
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rash — a series

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