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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. board — a committee
  3. scale — in music
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mate — a partner
  6. ground — the earth
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bank — for money
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bank — of a river
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. board — to get on
  14. bank — for money
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chair — a leader
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ground — a position

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