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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. board — to get on
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. swing — music
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hide — to keep secret

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