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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mate — a partner
  3. board — a committee
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. staff — employees
  7. board — to get on
  8. craft — a skill
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. craft — boats
  11. bat — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. chair — a leader
  15. band — a music group
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. band — a ring
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. staff — employees
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mate — to breed

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