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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. board — a committee
  3. mine — for digging
  4. board — to get on
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. stem — to come from
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. snap — to click
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — in cards
  22. toast — bread
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mine — an explosive

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