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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — a video
  6. board — a committee
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. present — there
  10. capital — a city
  11. present — the time now
  12. clip — for paper
  13. capital — money
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chest — a box
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. present — a gift
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. board — to get on

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