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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. board — a committee
  5. stand — to bear
  6. race — a contest
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. field — farmland
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cold — not warm
  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