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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chair — a leader
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. board — a committee
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. drill — a practice
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. row — a line
  16. board — to get on
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wax — to grow
  20. season — of the year
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mine — for digging
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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