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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. current — happening now
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. present — there
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fall — the season
  10. hand — help
  11. current — electric
  12. present — the time now
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. present — a gift
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. current — of water
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. kid — to tease
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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