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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. march — music
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. race — a contest
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — the month
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. lean — thin
  24. degree — an amount

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