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

Word bank: hand · court · stand · present · arm · cell · wake · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. cell — a phone
  4. present — there
  5. hand — in cards
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — to bear
  9. board — to get on
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — help
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. court — of a king
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. court — of law

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