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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 · bay · kid · rest · object · content · net · board

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. kid — child
  3. content — happy
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. net — after costs
  6. object — an aim
  7. net — for catching
  8. object — to protest
  9. chair — a leader
  10. object — a thing
  11. kid — to tease
  12. content — the amount
  13. rest — what's left
  14. board — to get on
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. net — in sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rest — what's left
  24. board — a committee

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