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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. board — a committee
  5. shower — rain
  6. board — to get on
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chip — to eat
  11. kick — in football
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chip — for betting
  24. mine — belonging to me

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