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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. foot — a measure
  9. chair — a leader
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. clip — for paper
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spring — the season
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. board — to get on
  19. pitch — completely
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cold — not warm
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. board — a committee
  24. patient — a sick person

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