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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: capital · board · straw · present · nail · chair · arm · patient

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. capital — money
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. board — to get on
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — a city
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. board — a flat piece

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