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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. can — to be able to
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. court — of law
  13. board — to get on
  14. cap — a hat
  15. net — in sport
  16. cap — of ice
  17. can — a tin
  18. mug — a face
  19. can — a tin
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. mug — to rob
  24. clip — for paper

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