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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hand — help
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bear — the animal
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. race — humankind
  14. pit — in a race
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. race — a contest
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bear — the animal
  22. board — to get on
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. calf — a young animal

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