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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. land — to come down
  3. mate — a friend
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. season — of the year
  7. file — a document
  8. mate — a partner
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. season — in sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a tool
  15. board — to get on
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mate — to breed
  24. arm — a part of something

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