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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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. bear — the animal
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. plane — a tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. squash — to crush
  12. net — in sport
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. spring — the season
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bear — the animal
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chest — of your body
  22. net — for catching
  23. board — to get on
  24. bear — to put up with

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