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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. field — a subject
  3. stock — shares
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. kick — in football
  8. field — for sport
  9. board — to get on
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stock — goods
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — a phone
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pound — a weight
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cell — in biology
  24. field — farmland

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