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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. board — to get on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. stem — to come from
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. net — for catching
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. net — after costs
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. board — a committee
  17. squash — to crush
  18. net — in sport
  19. clip — a video
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. squash — the sport

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