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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — to go on
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. last — finally
  8. file — a tool
  9. board — to get on
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. branch — a division
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. last — final
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mate — to breed
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. board — a flat piece

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