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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. season — in sport
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitch — completely
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. season — of the year
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fine — high quality
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. board — to get on
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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