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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hand — help
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rock — music
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bound — obliged
  13. spell — letters
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. board — to get on
  19. spell — magic
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bound — certain
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bound — tied together
  24. hand — in cards

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