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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. board — to get on
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. board — a committee
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — in sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. net — for catching
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. net — after costs
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wind — moving air

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