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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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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: season · board · firm · land · chest · arm · sharp · leaves

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. board — a committee
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — steady
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. firm — decided
  14. sharp — clever
  15. land — ground
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. land — a country
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. board — to get on
  21. season — of the year
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. firm — a company

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