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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. lean — to bend
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chair — a leader
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. board — a committee
  7. stock — goods
  8. spring — of water
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — the season
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stock — shares
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. clip — for paper
  23. board — to get on
  24. hand — help

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