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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. board — a committee
  3. stock — shares
  4. board — to get on
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. land — to come down
  10. lean — to bend
  11. land — a country
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stock — goods
  14. fall — the season
  15. lean — thin
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. land — ground
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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