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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spell — magic
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. board — a committee
  8. staff — employees
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — a video
  15. spell — letters
  16. chest — a box
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hide — animal skin

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