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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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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 · content · bay · spell · kid · foot · wave · board

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. board — a committee
  4. content — the amount
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. content — happy
  10. board — to get on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. spell — a short time
  17. foot — a measure
  18. spell — letters
  19. kid — child
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. spell — magic

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