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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · chair · board · safe · dip · squash · field · hand

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — a committee
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hand — in cards
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — help
  12. squash — to crush
  13. board — to get on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. field — a subject
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. field — for sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — a leader
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. squash — the sport
  24. dip — to sink

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