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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bear — the animal
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. field — a subject
  5. rule — a law
  6. bear — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — farmland
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spring — a coil
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rule — government
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. spring — of water
  24. board — to get on

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