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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. board — to get on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. craft — boats
  9. court — for sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. court — of a king
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. craft — a skill
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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