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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. chest — a box
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. scale — in music
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. stock — shares
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mate — a friend
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. mate — to breed

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