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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 116 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: lean · hand · board · club · land · chair · mug · chip

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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 flat piece
  2. lean — thin
  3. hand — help
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mug — to rob
  7. lean — to bend
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mug — a cup
  10. land — to come down
  11. mug — a face
  12. board — a committee
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. club — for golf
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — ground
  20. club — a group
  21. land — a country
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chip — in a computer
  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