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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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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: board · pitch · wound · chair · sharp · last · bowl · shower

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. board — a committee
  6. last — to go on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. board — to get on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. last — final
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. last — finally
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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