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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bound — certain
  3. craft — boats
  4. net — after costs
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. net — for catching
  8. cold — an illness
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. board — to get on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rash — a series
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rash — hasty
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. net — in sport
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cold — not warm
  24. craft — a skill

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