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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. capital — money
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — child
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. board — to get on
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — not warm
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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