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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rock — a stone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rock — music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — to paddle
  13. branch — a division
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. row — a line
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. board — a committee
  24. branch — of a tree

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