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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. sharp — clever
  10. swing — music
  11. hand — help
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. board — to get on
  15. present — the time now
  16. swing — to play on
  17. present — there
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. present — a gift
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hand — in cards
  23. board — a committee
  24. wake — a trail

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