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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. snap — to click
  9. bear — the animal
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rock — music
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. board — to get on
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rock — a stone
  19. clip — for paper
  20. vault — a safe
  21. kid — child
  22. bear — the animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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