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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 120 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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. board — a committee
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chair — a leader
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pit — in a race
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cell — in biology
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. board — to get on
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chest — a box
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — a professorship

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