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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: chair · wound · rock · board · nail · spell · ground · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. chair — a leader
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. board — a committee
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. track — a path
  10. ground — a position
  11. spell — letters
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spell — magic
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. ground — crushed
  20. board — to get on
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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