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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. spring — of water
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. march — music
  8. current — of water
  9. capital — money
  10. current — happening now
  11. lean — thin
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. spring — the season
  16. lean — to bend
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rash — a series
  21. current — electric
  22. capital — a city
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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