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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. spring — the season
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spring — a coil
  8. board — to get on
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bound — certain
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. kick — in football
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lean — to bend
  20. spring — of water
  21. stock — shares
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. lean — thin
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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