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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pit — in a race
  3. board — to get on
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — a committee
  6. net — after costs
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. net — in sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — for catching
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chair — a leader
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pit — a hole
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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