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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. ground — crushed
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chair — a leader
  8. content — happy
  9. branch — a division
  10. ground — the earth
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. board — to get on
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — a position
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. content — the amount
  24. cold — an illness

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