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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. fall — the season
  3. can — a tin
  4. chair — a leader
  5. board — to get on
  6. press — newspapers
  7. tear — to rip
  8. can — a tin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rash — a series
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. fall — to drop
  21. can — to be able to
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. press — to push

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