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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: race · board · mug · lean · chair · land · wind · sharp

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. land — to come down
  8. mug — a face
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. race — a contest
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a leader
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. board — a committee
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lean — thin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. board — to get on
  20. mug — to rob
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mug — a cup
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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