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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. board — to get on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. race — humankind
  9. season — in sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mate — to breed
  21. season — of the year
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rush — a thrill

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