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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. board — a committee
  3. clip — a video
  4. last — to go on
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bank — for money
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — for paper
  12. board — to get on
  13. last — finally
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. row — a line
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. last — final
  18. fine — all right

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