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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. board — a committee
  5. pop — soda
  6. board — to get on
  7. bound — certain
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mark — a grade
  10. pop — music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spring — the season
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — obliged
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. spring — of water
  21. mark — a trace
  22. hand — help
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pop — to visit

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