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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. key — the most important part
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. key — for a lock
  9. tear — from crying
  10. snap — to click
  11. stem — to come from
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mine — for digging
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. key — in music
  24. tear — to rip

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