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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. race — a contest
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. row — a line
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. board — to get on
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. race — humankind
  19. chair — a leader
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — the arms race
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. prune — the fruit

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