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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  3. club — for dancing
  4. suit — to fit
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. press — to push
  7. shower — to wash
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — a coil
  14. capital — money
  15. suit — in cards
  16. press — newspapers
  17. club — a group
  18. suit — clothes
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — rain
  21. spring — the season
  22. press — a publisher
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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