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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. board — to get on
  3. content — happy
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. land — to come down
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. ball — a dance
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kid — to tease
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. foot — a measure
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. land — ground
  17. board — a committee
  18. content — the amount
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pound — a weight
  21. land — a country
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ball — a round shape

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