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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. chest — of your body
  3. board — a committee
  4. season — of the year
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. board — to get on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. season — in sport
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — after costs
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stock — goods
  20. tear — to rip
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. stock — shares
  24. object — a thing

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