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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. season — in sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hand — in cards
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. hand — help
  15. last — final
  16. board — to get on
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kick — in football
  24. board — a committee

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