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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. clip — a video
  3. present — there
  4. bound — obliged
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. field — for sport
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — certain
  10. board — to get on
  11. present — a gift
  12. bound — tied together
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. roll — a list
  16. clip — to cut
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. board — a committee
  20. field — a subject
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. present — the time now
  24. clip — for paper

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