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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. present — a gift
  3. vault — a safe
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pass — a permit
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hand — in cards
  12. board — to get on
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. present — the time now
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ground — a position
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. present — there
  22. ground — the earth
  23. scale — in music
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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