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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. race — humankind
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — a container
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. race — a contest
  12. chest — a box
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — shares
  19. chip — to eat
  20. board — a committee
  21. stock — goods
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wind — moving air

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