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

Word bank: chair · board · bark · cell · bore · season · capital · swing

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bore — to tire
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. season — in sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. board — to get on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. capital — a city
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. season — of the year
  23. board — a committee
  24. cell — in a prison

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