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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — a video
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to click
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. clip — for paper
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. board — a committee
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. board — to get on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. roll — a list
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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