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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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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. land — ground
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. land — to come down
  9. fork — in a road
  10. board — a committee
  11. land — a country
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — for paper
  17. board — to get on
  18. rush — to hurry

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