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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. root — of a word
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. club — a group
  7. board — to get on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — to breed
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. saw — the tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mate — a partner
  19. root — the cause
  20. mark — a trace
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mark — a grade
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. root — of a plant

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