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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. squash — to crush
  3. board — a committee
  4. charge — a price
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. board — to get on
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. saw — the tool
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — a safe
  13. charge — in control
  14. chair — a leader
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — the tool
  18. squash — the sport
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cold — an illness
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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