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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. can — a tin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. can — to be able to
  8. chair — a leader
  9. can — a tin
  10. pop — to visit
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pop — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. board — to get on
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — electricity
  22. pop — soda
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — a box

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