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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
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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: date · board · saw · chair · net · fall · content · ground

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. date — the fruit
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — happy
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — the season
  11. net — for catching
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ground — the earth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. net — in sport
  20. ground — crushed
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. board — to get on
  23. content — the amount
  24. chair — a leader

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