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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. chest — of your body
  3. board — to get on
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — to breed
  9. foot — a measure
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. clip — a video
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cell — a phone
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. mate — a partner
  17. chest — a box
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chest — of your body

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