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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. season — of the year
  3. lean — thin
  4. race — the arms race
  5. board — to get on
  6. game — a match
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. race — a contest
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. root — of a word
  18. race — humankind
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. root — the cause
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cell — a phone
  23. root — of a plant
  24. season — to add flavour

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