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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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 flat piece
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — to get on
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. scale — in music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fall — the season
  13. bark — to shout
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. board — a committee
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chair — a leader

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