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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — the season
  19. stock — shares
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. stock — goods
  22. board — to get on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. row — a line

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