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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — in sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. perch — the fish
  11. net — after costs
  12. bear — the animal
  13. board — to get on
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. game — a match
  20. net — for catching
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bear — the animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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