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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bore — to tire
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. root — of a word
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bear — the animal
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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