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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 124 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rest — a break
  5. press — to push
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bass — low music
  12. press — newspapers
  13. content — the amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a document
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — happy
  20. file — a tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. board — to get on

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