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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chest — of your body
  8. board — to get on
  9. hand — help
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — goods
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chest — a box
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spring — of water
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. board — a committee
  22. spring — the season
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stock — shares

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