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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hand — help
  4. root — the cause
  5. board — a committee
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chair — a leader
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. stock — goods
  16. root — of a word
  17. march — music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — of a plant

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