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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. board — a committee
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — help
  6. present — a gift
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stock — goods
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ball — a dance
  14. present — there
  15. press — to push
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. press — newspapers
  19. present — the time now
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stock — shares
  24. board — to get on

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