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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. track — a song
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chair — a leader
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. clip — a video
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. straw — dry grass

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