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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — shares
  7. kid — to tease
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cue — a hint
  11. kid — child
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. sharp — clever
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stock — goods
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cue — for pool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cue — a signal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wind — to turn a key

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