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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pop — to visit
  3. board — to get on
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chair — a leader
  8. row — a line
  9. field — a subject
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. board — a committee
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. field — farmland
  17. pop — music
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. field — for sport
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pop — soda
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. row — to paddle

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