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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. land — to come down
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — ground
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. current — happening now
  9. land — a country
  10. board — a committee
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rule — government
  13. board — to get on
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pit — in a race
  16. current — electric
  17. current — of water
  18. rule — a law
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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