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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. board — a committee
  3. file — a line of people
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kid — child
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. board — to get on
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lie — to recline
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rash — hasty
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — a series
  24. board — a flat piece

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