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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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. press — to push
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. chair — a leader
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bore — to tire
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — moving air
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bore — to drill
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mine — for digging

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