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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. net — after costs
  4. board — a committee
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. net — for catching
  9. press — to push
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. mine — for digging
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. press — newspapers
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. board — to get on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. row — a line
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. plane — a tool
  24. press — a publisher

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