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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. stem — to come from
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — the cause
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. root — of a word
  9. pass — a permit
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. board — to get on
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — the most important part
  20. root — of a plant
  21. hand — help
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. hand — in cards
  24. key — in music

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