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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. lean — to bend
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spring — a coil
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spring — of water
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spring — the season
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. land — a country
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. board — to get on
  18. lean — thin
  19. club — for golf
  20. land — ground
  21. club — a group
  22. land — to come down
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pit — a hole

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