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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · mine · field · board · cell · last · squash · chair

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. squash — to crush
  3. field — a subject
  4. face — to confront
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cell — in biology
  8. last — finally
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — the sport
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — for sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. field — farmland
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. face — part of the head
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chair — a leader
  24. board — to get on

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