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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — final
  5. chair — a leader
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. net — for catching
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. board — a committee
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bound — certain
  13. pitch — completely
  14. last — to go on
  15. bound — tied together
  16. net — after costs
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. board — to get on
  20. last — finally
  21. net — in sport
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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