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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. land — a country
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. land — to come down
  17. pitch — completely
  18. board — to get on
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. land — ground
  21. tube — a container
  22. stand — to bear
  23. tear — from crying
  24. board — a flat piece

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