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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fall — to drop
  3. board — a committee
  4. last — final
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. board — to get on
  9. last — to go on
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. last — finally
  14. net — in sport
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fall — to drop
  17. net — for catching
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — the season
  24. bulb — of a plant

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